
Gass. 
Book. 



/ 



JL2- 



LATIN AND PRACTICAL LIFE 



THE RELATION OF LATIN 
TO PRACTICAL LIFE 



CONCRETE ILLUSTRATIONS IN THE 
FORM OF AN EXHIBIT 



FRANCES ELLIS SABIN 

Head of the Department of Latin in the Oak Park and 
River Forest Toivnship High School 



ASSISTED BY 

LOURA B. WOODRUFF 



PUBLISHED BY THE AUTHOR 
CHICAGO, 1913 



V 



^ x V 



Copyright 1913 By 
Frances Ellis Sabin 



All Rights Reserved 



Published August 1913 



Composed and Printed By 

The University of Chicago Press 

Chicago, Illinois, U.S.A. 






'Segnius irritant animos demissa per aurem 
Quam quae sunt oculis subiecta fidelibus.' 

— Horace, Ars Poetica, 11. 180-181 



CONTENTS 

Outline 3 

Latin and — 

I. The English Language .......... 5 

II. English Literature; Training in English Expression; 

Teachers of English 17 

III. The Romance Languages; Language-Study in General . 33 

IV. Mental Training 45 

V. Art 49 

VI. The Sciences 57 

VII. The Professions . 63 

VIII. Roman Civilization as a Basis for Our Own .... 83 

IX. Other Ways in Which the Study of Latin Makes the 

World More Interesting 101 

Appendix : 

Some Common Objections to the Study of Latin 116 

Letters to High-School Boys and Girls 119 

The Larger Meaning of the Term "Practical" as Applied to Educa- 
tion 122 

What It Means Not to Know Latin 125 



PREFACE 

In these days of confusion as to the real ends of education and con- 
tention as to the meaning of terms employed in defining them, one fact 
at least is clear and beyond any question of dispute, namely, that the 
modern world is insisting upon a definite answer from educators as to 
the value of various studies now in the curriculum of schools and col- 
leges. It is asking from teachers in clear and unmistakable terms 
such questions as these, "Of what use is your subject? "What is its 
bearing upon the affairs of practical life?" And however foolish the 
questions may seem and despite the difficulties of answering them in 
terms of the "practical" — a word that has as many meanings as there 
are ideals of life — every teacher must be ready to respond. 

The supporters of vocational studies looking directly to commercial 
ends have long had their answer ready, and in a form so striking and 
concrete that the modern world has no difficulty in understanding it. 
For various reasons, also, teachers of the sciences, history, English, 
mathematics, and modern languages have had comparatively little 
difficulty in convincing the world that their subjects are useful. But 
the task has been harder for the teacher of the classics, not because he 
had a less "useful" contribution to make to the cause of education, but 
because it lent itself less readily to definition in terms which the man in 
the street would regard as in any sense "practical." And so in many 
cases he has not answered it at all, preferring rather to take the attitude 
of the pagan worshipers at Ephesus who met the claims of the new 
religion by gathering around the statue of their goddess and shouting 
in the ears of the Christians, " Great is Diana of the Ephesians! " without 
stopping to answer the questions, "Just how is she great ?" "What can 
she really do for those who follow her ? " 

The writer has felt for a long time that failure to give a direct answer 
in a striking and concrete form to this question, "Is there any relation 
between the study of Latin and practical life?" or as the high-school 
boy puts it, "What's the use of Latin anyway?" has been at the basis 
of much of the discontent concerning Latin. The Exhibit as outlined 
in the following pages was begun as a pedagogical experiment to prove 
or disprove this theory. It took the present form because of the assump- 
tion that a few concrete illustrations arranged in a way to strike the 



eye and to hold the attention are better than any number of abstract 
statements ineffectively presented. 

Because of the wealth of material and the many sides from which 
the question may be viewed, it has been difficult in many cases to select 
matter for illustration. In general the writer has kept in mind the needs 
and interests of the average high-school boy and girl. However, many 
other points and devices for illustrating them will at once occur to the 
skilful teacher as being quite as much worth while as those chosen. It 
will be noted that the testimony of classical teachers has been almost 
entirely disregarded in favor of that from other sources. 

While the Exhibit as a whole is concerned with Latin, it has been 
impossible in many cases to separate it from Greek. Hence the latter 
term appears in several of the headings and in some of the illustrative 
matter. 

As regards the spirit of the Exhibit, the writer has aimed to keep it 
entirely free from any invidious reflection on other subjects of the 
curriculum. Nothing is further from the purpose of the Exhibit than 
to extol Latin at the expense of other studies, nor is it to be understood 
that all the advantages claimed for the study of Latin are the exclusive 
possession of that study. 

The author cannot adequately express her gratitude for the kindly 
appreciation and material assistance of the Classical Association of the 
Middle West and South in promoting the publication. She is especially 
indebted to Mr. Frank J. Miller, one of the editors of the Classical Journal, 
and to the following committee appointed by the Association at its 
meeting in Cincinnati in April, 191 2, to consider plans for putting the 
Exhibit in printed form: Benjamin L. D'Ooge, Ypsilanti, Michigan, 
chairman; Walter Hullihen, Sewanee, Tennessee; Frank J. Miller, 
Chicago; Moses S. Slaughter, Madison, Wisconsin; and H. L. Senger, 
Cincinnati, Ohio. 

The author also wishes to express her thanks to Mr. Arthur Cheno- 
weth of the Oak Park High School for very material assistance in first 
preparing the Exhibit and for hearty sympathy in the work of publica- 
tion. 

Oak Park, III. 
May 26, 1913 



DIRECTIONS REGARDING THE PREPARATION OF THE 
EXHIBIT AND SUGGESTIONS AS TO ITS USE 



PREPARATION OF THE CARDS 

The purpose of this handbook is to afford material for making an 
Exhibit which shall answer in concrete form the high-school boy's ques- 
tion, "What's the use of Latin ?" While it may be useful as a summary in 
graphic form of the ways in which a classical education touches practical 
life, its primary end is pedagogical. The main point throughout is 
not so much to afford new information, as to present information already 
known through abstract statements, in so striking and concrete a form 
that it will arouse the interest of the student and hold his attention. In 
the preparation of such an Exhibit the present handbook is designed to 
contain the material necessary for filling out the sixty cards sent with it, 
as well as suggestions in the form of footnotes as to the sources of other 
material. In most cases, for the purpose of rounding out the subject 
and serving the needs of maturer students who may wish to investigate 
the subject at greater length, it will supply more material than the 
teacher will be able to transfer to the cards. While each page, then, 
technically represents a card in the Exhibit, it will often be found neces- 
sary to select only parts of the material, omitting the rest entirely or 
mounting it in typewritten form. The blank cards sent out with the 
sixty printed ones will, of course, allow much liberty in extending the 
illustrative matter. Additional cards, also, may be secured at any large 
paper house, such as Dwight Brothers Paper Company, 626 South 
Clark Street, or Bradner, Smith & Co., 175 W. Monroe Street, Chicago. 

In selecting material for illustration, the teacher should be governed 
very largely by the personal interests of pupils and the needs of the com- 
munity. In some cases it may be better to disregard the illustrative 
devices of the handbook and to work out the idea with original material, 
in the preparation of which both teacher and pupil co-operate. The more 
personal the Exhibit can be made, the greater, of course, will be its suc- 
cess. It is this obvious principle of pedagogy as well as the question of 
expense which has suggested the plan of furnishing only the headlines 
of the cards, instead of having them printed in full. 

Care should be taken to see that the letters used in printing the 
cards are large enough to be seen easily from any part of the room and 



that they are in accord with the scheme adopted in the headlines. The 
printing may be done by rubber stamps. 1 

SIGNS 

Because of the extent of the material and the fact that success is as 
much dependent upon a clear and logical scheme for the arrangement 
of the cards upon the wall as it is upon the material itself, a certain num- 
ber of signs, printed in letters from 2 to 3 in., will be essential to dis- 
tinguish the different divisions of the subject. These may be printed 
by hand or may be made more easily from gummed paper letters fur- 
nished by the Dennison Paper Company, 62 E. Randolph Street, Chicago. 
Following is the list of signs which are most important: 

1. The title of the Exhibit (4 in. letters). 

2. The nine divisions of the subject given in the Outline (2 in. letters). 

3. The headings of the various professions under VII, Law, Medicine, 
Engineering, the Ministry, Journalism, Business, the Statesman, the 
Woman at Home, Architecture (2 in. letters). 

4. Such subdivisions under II (especially A and B), VIII, and the 
Appendix as seem necessary to a clear presentation of the matter selected. 

METHOD OF DISPLAYING THE CARDS 

The cards, arranged in logical order under the headings of the signs, 
may either be pinned or attached by hooks to mosquito netting hung from 
the molding of the room. (Small hooks suitable for this purpose may 
be obtained from the Dennison Paper Company, referred to above.) 

SUGGESTIONS AS TO THE USE OF THE EXHIBIT 

Inasmuch as the Exhibit is designed to appeal to the intelligence 

of the student, and is not in any sense a "show" for his amusement only, 

some definite plan for its careful study should be worked out by the 

teacher. For example, the student may be asked to prepare a paper 

upon the different points of the Exhibit, or a test may be given with the 

understanding that the result will be an important factor in making up 

the grade for the month. In any case, sufficient time should be given 

for careful observation, and an opportunity afforded for a discussion of 

the leading points. Students should be encouraged to bring in material 

during the rest of the year and to start scrapbooks for a collection of 

their own. The Exhibit should reach as many people as possible in 

the community, and it is suggested that every opportunity be afforded to 

the public to inspect it. 

1 Rubber stamps may be secured from The Art Sign and Price Marker Company, 
19 E. South Water St., Chicago (see inclosed catalogue). The following sets are 
offered to purchasers of the Exhibit at greatly reduced rates: Nos. 2, 3, 4, 120 at $1 . 50; 
Nos. 255, 256, 257 at $0.85; Nos. 258, 460, 461 at $1.00. Parcel postage is not 
included in this price. 



OUTLINE 

I. Latin makes the English language more intelligible. 

II. Latin and Greek are of supreme value to the mastery of 
literary English. 



III. Latin is the foundation of French, Italian, Spanish, 
Portuguese, and Roumanian. It is also a good basis 
for the study of language in general. 



IV. Latm affords excellent mental training. 



V. Latin and Greek are essential to an intimate knowledge 
of art and decorative designs in general. 

VI. Latin and Greek words form a large part of the termi- 
nology of science. 

VII. Latin contributes more or less directly to success in the 
professions. 

VIII. Latin illuminates textbooks of Roman history and gives 
a deeper insight into that great civilization from which 
our own has inherited so largely. 

IX. Other ways in which the study of Latin makes the world 
about us more interesting. 



I 



LATIN MAKES 



THE 



ENGLISH LANGUAGE 



MORE 



INTELLIGIBLE 



LATIN HELPS US TO SEE THE REAL MEANING OF 
SOME OF OUR WELL-KNOWN ENGLISH WORDS 

Carbuncle comes from the Latin word carbo, which means 
a live coal. 

Secretary comes from secretarius, which means a keeper of 
secreta or secrets. 

Trivial comes from trivialis, which means belonging to the 
crossroads — tres viae — or public streets, hence commonplace. 

Exonerate comes from exonerare, which means to free from 
a burden — ex, from, and onus, a burden. 

Rival comes from rivalis, which means dwelling by the 
same brook — rivus — and contending for the right to use it. 

Cardinal comes from cardo, a hinge, hence it means of 
fundamental importance. 

Detriment comes from deterere, which means to rub or 
wear away. 

Tent comes from tendere, to stretch, hence it is a shelter 
made of some strong material stretched over poles. 

Lieutenant comes through the French from locus, r place, 
and tenere, to hold, hence it means an officer who supplies the 
place of a superior in the latter's absence. 

Fine comes from finis, end, hence it means a sum of money 
paid so as to make an end of a transaction, suit, or prosecution. 

Discursive comes from discurrere, to run to and fro, hence 
it means passing from one thing to another, digressive. 

Manicure comes from manus, hand, and curare, to care for, 
hence it means a person who takes care of people's hands. 

Candidate comes from candidatus, which is derived from 
candidus, white. The Roman candidate was accustomed to 
wear a clean white toga when canvassing for votes. 



6 



LATIN IS THE KEY TO THE MEANING OF MANY 


UNUSUAL ENGLISH WORDS 


a veridical story 


Veridical, from the Latin verus, true, 




and root appearing in dicere, to say — 




truthful. 


a clamant evil 


Clamant, from clamare, to cry out — 




demanding notice. 


the African littoral . . . 


Littoral, from litus, seashore, coast. 


a gregarious person . . . 


Gregarious, from grex, herd, and arius, 




belonging to, a person who likes to 




be where the crowd is. 


nugatory results 


Nugatory, from nugae, trifles — insig- 




nificant. 


a minatory voice 


Minatory, from minari, to threaten — 




threatening. 


a mellifluous voice . . . 


Mellifluous, from mel, honey, and 




fluere, to flow — smooth and sweet. 


matutinal meal 


Matutinal, from matutinus, of the 




morning — morning . 


a punitive expedition . 


.Punitive, from punire, to punish, 




made for the purpose of inflicting 




punishment. 


alimental recompense . 


. .Alimental, from alere, to nourish — 




nourishing. 


pursuit of pulchritude 


.Pulchritude, from pulchritudo, beauty 




— beauty. 


concoctive powers 


Concoctive, from concoquere, to cook 




together, to ' digest — digestive. 


recondite meanings . . 


.Recondite, from recondere, to conceal 




— hidden, secret. 


tenebrous thoughts .... 


Tenebrous, from tenebrosus, dark — 




dark, gloomy. 


mentioned with obloquy Obloquy, from obloqui, to speak 




against — censure. 


a recalcitrant voter . . . 


Recalcitrant, from recalcitrare, to kick 




back — showing repugnance or opposi- 




tion. 

7 



THIS ENGLISH DICTIONARY SHOWS BY ITS COLORING 
THAT THE PERCENTAGE OF WORDS OF CLASSICAL 
ORIGIN IS VERY LARGE 




"The fact that what is called a complete English dictionary 
contains three Latin or Greek derivations to one word from a 
Saxon or any other Gothic source, shows us that to the edu- 
cated man the livest part of his language, so far as science and 
the higher order of things are concerned, is the Latin and Greek 
contingent." — Dr.W.T. Harris, late Commissioner of Education, 
article on What Kind of Language Study Aids in the Mastery 
of Natural Science? "The School Bulletin," December, 1907. 

"Two-thirds of the words which we have at our command (that 
is, the words found in a dictionary) are Latin; while, in our ordinary 
daily speech, half the words we use outside of what we may call the 
"small change" of language, such as and, we, to, on, of, are Latin. 
The little boy who says in the street, 'please give me a cent, Mister,' 
is speaking just one-half Anglo-Saxon English and one-half Latin 
English ('give,' 'me,' and 'a' have come down from Anglo-Saxon 
and 'please,' 'cent,' and 'Mister' from Latin)." — -William Gardner 
Hale, Professor of Latin, University of Chicago, Introduction to "A 
First Latin Book." 

"There is no doubt that if we were to include all compounds and 
all scientific terms .... the Graeco-Latin element of words in our 
dictionary enormously outnumbers the Teutonic." — Sir James Mur- 
ray, Editor of the "New Oxford Dictionary." Letter to author, 
February 3, 19 13. 



Note. — Color the pages of this book red and green to represent your idea of the 
approximate proportion of words of classical origin as compared with those from other 
sources. 



THE FOLLOWING UNDERLINED WORDS IN THESE 
ENGLISH WRITERS SHOW HOW MUCH OUR 
LANGUAGE IS INDEBTED TO LATIN 

Burke 
"You imagined, when you wrote last, that I might possibly 
be reckoned among the approvers of certain proceedings in 
France, from the solemn public seal of sanction they have 
received from two clubs of gentlemen in London, called the 
Constitutional Society and the Revolution Society." — "Reflec- 
tions on the French Revolution." 

Addison 
"The first and most obvious reflections which arise in a 
man who changes the city for the country are upon the different 
manners of the people whom he meets with in those two different 
scenes of life." — "Sir Roger de Coverley." 

Shakespeare 
"Cassius, be not deceived: if I have veiled my look, 
I turn the trouble of my countenance 
Merely upon myself. Vexed I am 
Of late with passions of some difference , 
Conceptions only proper to myself." 

— -"Julius Caesar." 

Milton 

"For books are not absolutely dead things, but do contain 

a potency of life in them to be as active as that soul was whose 

progeny they are; nay, they do preserve as in a vial the purest 

efficacy and extraction of that living intellect that bred them." 

— ' ' Areopagitica . ' ' 

Macaulay 
"Johnson came among them the solitary specimen of a past 
age, the last survivor of the genuine race of Grub Street hacks ; 
the last of that generation of authors whose abject misery and 
whose dissolute manners had furnished inexhaustible matter to 
the satirical genius of Pope." — Essay on "Boswell's Life of 
Johnson." 



George Eliot 
"In that far off time superstition clung easily round every 
person or thing that was at all unwonted, or even intermittent 
and occasional merely." — "Silas Marner." 

"The American Magazine" 
"The National Republican Convention was called to meet 
in Minneapolis, June 7, 1893. There was no serious contest 
for presidential nomination." 

"The Atlantic" 
"Dreams usually occur in the morning, and are normally a 
product of light sleep, representing the gradual reinstatement 
of consciousness after the earlier and more profound slumber." 

"The Chicago Tribune" 
"While the safeguarding and improvement of the lake 
water take place, a heavy percentage of the people make use 
of water that is handled commercially by large concerns in this 
city of Chicago and elsewhere." 

"The Chicago Daily News" 
"It is not definitely settled, according to good authority, 
that Mr. Bryan will -sit with the national committee as proxy 
for the State of Nebraska." 



Robert Hichens 
"Evidently she had infected him with an intention similar 
to her own. She went on, still hearing the step, turned the 
corner and stood face to face in the strong evening light with 
the - traveller."— ""The Garden of Allah." 

"The Chicago Record-Herald" 
"New Mexico, the forty-seventh state to enter the Union 
ceased to be a territory at 1:35 p.m. today, when President 
Taft signed the proclamation of statehood." 





WHY NOT LEARN THE MEANING OF THE 
ROOT WORD AND THUS AVOID THE 
NECESSITY OF USING THE ENGLISH 
DICTIONARY SO OFTEN? 






Drawing of a tree with video, see, printed at its roots 
and such English derivatives as the following printed 
on its branches: 

visible, visage, visor, vision, vista, visual, provi- 
dent, evident, visit, etc. 












Drawing of a tree with patior, suffer, printed at 
its roots and such English derivatives as the fol- 
lowing printed on its branches : 

compassion, passive, impassive, compatible, 

impatience, patient, passion, etc. 












Drawing o: a tree with venio, come, printed at its 
roots and such English derivatives as the following 
printed on its branches: 

uneventful, event, inventor, eventual, invent, 
advent, adventitious, adventure, inventory, etc. 








ii 



Note. — The freshman Latin class of the high school may well be intrusted with 
the preparation of this part of the Exhibit. 



WORDS WHOSE MEANINGS ARE BEST EXPLAINED BY 
A KNOWLEDGE OF THE CLASSICAL CHARACTERS 
FROM WHOSE NAMES THEY ARE DERIVED 





AUGUST 




HERCULEAN 




VOLCANO 






Picture of 
Augustus 




Picture of 
Hercules 




Picture of 
Vulcan 






JULY 




PANIC 




MERCURIAL 






Picture of 
Julius Caesar 




Picture of 
Pan 




Picture of 
Mercury 






IRIDESCENT 




PHAETON 




CHIMERA 






Picture of 
Iris 




Picture of 
Phaethon 




Picture of 
the Chimaera 






MARTIAL 




JANUARY 




MUSEUM 






Picture of 
Mars 




Picture of 

Janus 




Picture of 
the Muses 






ATLAS 




CEREAL 




FATALIST 






Picture of 
Atlas 




Picture of 
Ceres 




Picture of 
the Fates 




12 















Note. — For sources of illustrative material, see p. 50. 



THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE 


CONTAINS A LARGE NUM- 


BER OF ACTUAL 


LATIN WORDS WHICH HAVE 


NOT BEEN CHANGED 


SINCE THE TIME OF THE 


ROMANS 






census 




hiatus 


interim 




- honor -— 


dictum 




horror 


-ultimatum 




^humor 


superior 




igjnoramus 


inferior 




maximum 


consul 




minus 


actor 




minimum 


agitator 




moderator 


animal 




murmur 


cantata 




orator 


conservator 




papyrus 


^dictator 




par 


doctor 




pauper 


error 




pendulum 


emeritus 




plus 


--exterior 




-senior 


fabricator 




sinister 


^fungus 




simulacrum 


genus 




—-terminus 


-gymnasium 




victor 

13 



HAVE YOU EVER NOTICED THAT THE NAME OF 
ALMOST EVERY MODERN SCIENTIFIC INVENTION 
IS COINED FROM GREEK OR LATIN, AND THAT 
THE NUMBER OF NEW WORDS THUS ADDED TO 
OUR LANGUAGE IS INCREASINGLY LARGE? 



DIRIGIBLE 



DICTAPHONE 



AUTOMOBILE 



(picture) 




(picture) 



L. dirigo, direct 



PULMOTOR 



L. dicta, words G. auros, self 

G. <£<i>ve'w sound L. mobilis, movable 



CALCUMETER 



INCUBATOR 



(picture) 



(picture) 



(picture) 



L. pulmo, lung L. calculo, reckon 

L. motus, movement or calculate 

G. fxirpov, measure 



L. incubo, brood 
over 



Microphone 

Telautograph 

Photogravure 

Hectostat 

Autophon 

Hectograph 

Binocular 

Cyclometer 

Thermophone 

Electrometer 



Other Examples 

Barometer 

Micrometer 

Electroscope 

Dynamometer 

Locomotive 

Magnetometer 

Hydrometer 

Stereotype 

Mimeograph 

Telegraph 



Graphophone 

Phonograph 

Electrophorus 

Photometer 

Pedometer 

Telephone 

Seismograph 

Pantograph 

Stereopticon 

Lactometer 



14 



Note. — To show how this practice is extended in the business world, collect such 
advertisements as these from the newspapers: Dermophile Underwear, Aerolux Porch 
Shades, etc. 



LATIN HELPS ONE TO SPELL CORRECTLY IN ENGLISH 

culpable L. culpa 

temporal L. temporis 

original L. originis 

separate L. separatus 

receive L. receptus 

accelerate L. acceleratus 

imperative L. imperatus 

necessity L. necessitas 

difficult L. difificilis 

facility L. facilis 

calendar L. kalendarium 

beneficial L. bene 

success L. successus 

similarity L. similis 

Mediterranean L. terra 

laboratory L. laborare 

portable L. portare 

incredible L. incredibilis 

Caesar L. Caesar 

pessimist L. pessimus 

aeroplane .L. aer 

adolescent L. adolescens 

derelict L. derelictus 

15 



THE LATIN STUDENT UNDERSTANDS THESE VERY 
COMMON ABBREVIATIONS IN OUR ENGLISH 
LANGUAGE: 

A.B Artium Baccalaureus, Bachelor of Arts. 

A.C*. Ante Christum, before Christ. 

Ad. lib. Ad libitum, at pleasure. 

A.D Anno Domini, in the year of our Lord. 

Ae Aetatis, of age. 

A.M Ante meridiem, before noon. 

A.M Artium Magister, Master of Arts. 

B.Sc Baccalaureus Scientiae, Bachelor of Science. 

CI Confer, compare. 

D Denarius, penny. 

D.D Divinitatis Doctor, Doctor of Divinity. 

E.g Exempli gratia, for example. 

Et al Et alii, and others. 

Etc Et cetera, and the rest, or and so forth. 

Fee Fecit, he or she did it. 

H.e Hoc est, this is, or that is. 

lb., Ibid Ibidem, in the same place. 

Id Idem, the same 

I.e Id est, that is. 

Incog Incognito, unknown. 

In loc In loco, in its place. 

Q.E.D Quod erat demonstrandum, which was to 

be proved. 

Q.l Quantum libet, as much as you please. 

Q.v Quod vide, which see. 

Scil Scilicet, namely. 

St Stet, let it stand. 

Ult Ultimo, of last month. 

Viz Videlicet, namely. 

Vs Versus, against. 

Ignorance of the above sometimes places one in a very un- 
pleasant position, as is shown in the following story related by 
Miss Mendenhall of the New York Public library: "The other 
day a student came into the library for help on a list of references 
in history which he was to read before writing a thesis. He 
said, ' I have found most of the books in the Columbia library, 
but there is one author I can't find anywhere, and I have spent 
a good deal of time looking. He has a strange name and I 
have never heard of him as a historian, but he has written a 
good many of the books on my list; his name is "Ibid."'" — 
"The Dial," September i, 191 2. 

[6 



II 



LATIN AND GREEK 



ARE OF 



SUPREME VALUE 



TO THE MASTERY 



OF LITERARY 



ENGLISH 



A. LATIN AND GREEK ACQUAINT US WITH 
COUNTLESS ALLUSIONS TO CLASSICAL 
MYTHOLOGY IN ENGLISH LITERATURE 



EXAMPLES OF REFERENCES TO MYTHOLOGY IN 
ENGLISH POETRY: 

"Such strains as would have won the ear 
Of Pluto to have quite set free 
His half -regained Eurydice." 

—Milton, "L'Allegro," 11. 148-50. 

"The Niobe of Nations! There she stands, 
Childless and crownless, in her voiceless woe." 

—Byron, "Childe Harold," Canto IV, 703-4. 

"Melted to one vast Iris of the West." 

—Byron, "Childe Harold," Canto IV, 240. 

" Foot-feather' d Mercury appear 'd sublime 
Beyond the tall tree tops." 

—Keats, " Endymion," Bk. IV, 333-34- 

"Dulcet-eyed as Ceres' daughter, 
Ere the God of Torment taught her." 

—Keats, "Fancy," 11. 81-82. 

"Then, Goddess of the silver bow., begin." 

— Dryden, "The Secular Masque," 1. 26. 

11 A little Cyclops with one eye 
Staring to threaten and defy." 

—Wordsworth, "To a Daisy," 11. 25-26. 

"Will all great Neptune's ocean wash this blood 
Clean from my hand ? " 

— Shakespeare, "Macbeth," Act II, sc. ii, 60-61. 

" That orbed maiden with whitefire laden, 
Whom mortals call the Moon." 

—Shelley, "The Cloud," 11. 45-46. 



Note. — For illustration of classical allusion, see Karl Harrington, "Live Issues 
in Classical Study" (1910), pp. 20-36; also E. L. Miller's article, The Greek in English, 
"Classical Weekly," IV (1910), 34-36. Paste other selections from English poetry 
with the classical references conspicuously underlined in red. 



SOME OF THE MANY ENGLISH POEMS ON CLASSICAL 
SUBJECTS, OR WITH A LATIN TITLE: 

"A Hymrrto Artemis" by Maurice Hewlett 

"Niobe" . " Walter Savage Landor 

"Endymion" " John Keats 

"Lamia" " John Keats 

"Epic of Hades" " Lewis Morris 

"Ulysses" " Stephen Phillips 

"Lament of Adonis" . "Sir Edwin Arnold 

"Echo" " Christina Rossetti 

"Alexander's Feast" " John Dryden 

"Oenone" . " Alfred Tennyson 

"Tithonus" " Alfred Tennyson 

"Cynthia's Revels" " Ben Jonson 

" Enceladus " " Henry W. Longfellow 

" Arethusa" ..." Percy B. Shelley 

"Hymn to Proserpine" " Algernon Swinburne 

"Comus" " John Milton 

"Ixion" " Robert Browning 

"Venus of Milo " " Edward R. Sill 

"Persephone" " Jean Ingelow 

" Actaeon" " Alfred Noyes 

"The Sirens" " Andrew Lang 



19 



Note. — The argument will be more striking if students co-operate in securing 
as complete a list as possible by consulting the indices of poetical works to be found in 
any large library. Such a typewritten list is a revelation to one who has never realized 
the extent to which our poetry is saturated with classical influence. Current maga- 
zines also furnish many examples. 



ONLY AN INTIMATE KNOWLEDGE OF CLASSICAL 
LITERATURE CAN GIVE ONE THE FEELING NECES- 
SARY FOR THE INTERPRETATION OF EVEN THESE 
VERY MODERN POEMS: 

In Memoriam 
Leo: A Yellow Cat 

"If, to your twilight land of dream, — 
Persephone, Persephone, 
Drifting with all your shadow host, — • 
Dim sunlight comes with sudden gleam, 
And you lift veiled eyes to see 
Slip past a little golden ghost, 
That wakes a sense of springing flowers, 
Of nestling birds, and lambs new-born, 
Of spring astir in quickening hours, 
And young blades of Demeter's corn; 
For joy of that sweet glimpse of sun, 
O goddess of unnumbered dead, 
Give one soft touch, — if only one, — 
To that uplifted, pleading head! 
Whisper some kindly word, to bless 
A wistful soul who understands 
That life is but one long caress 
Of gentle words and gentle hands." 

— "Atlantic Monthly," January, 1913. 

Arcades Ambo 
"See yon glad lover piping there 

To Amaryllis sweet ? 
He hears the hum of golden bees 
Soft murmuring in the blossoming trees; 
He hears the tinkling of the bells 
Where feed his flocks in grassy dells; 
From out his lithe throat, glad and strong, 
He breathes a lover's joyous song, 

And pours it at her feet. 

Mark you this lover, thin and white, 

Beneath these somber skies ? 
He sees a narrow, paven street 
At whose high top tall factories meet; 
He hears the shrill, metallic roar 
That shakes the trembling wall and fl6or. 
She toils beside him. He lifts high 
His passionate heart, with voiceless cry, 

To her young, patient eyes. 

Arcadians both — young Corydon 

At dalliance in the grassy grove, 
And he, with drudgery wan and worn, 

Whose soul is big with pain and love." 
— Helen Coale Crew, "The Outlook," January 27, 1912. 



CIRCLE OF APPRECIATION OF ENGLISH POETRY 




This is your "blind spot" as regards the appreciation of 
English poetry if you do not understand the literature and 
mythology of Greece and Rome; that is, the black represents 
the amount which has no meaning for you. This is perhaps the 
reason why you do not "like" poetry. 



Note.— The size of this "blind spot" is, of course, arbitrary. 



EXAMPLES OF REFERENCES TO MYTHOLOGY IN 
ENGLISH PROSE: 

"This is a Janus-faced fact." — "Atlantic Monthly." 

"Certainly in this Exhibition .... there is nothing that 
should send the critic, Cassandra-like, out to shout perdition 
from the housetops. "—"Architectural Record," March 1913, 
p. 230. 

"Mrs. Keith continued in the role of Ganymede until the 
ruby liquid was in the glasses." — Editorial, the "Chicago 
Tribune." 

"Had some Rhadaminthine arbiter of his destiny compelled 
him to choose " — William Locke, "Glory of Clementina." 

"Gentlemen, Mr. Montague Skinner, the Fifth Avenue 
Narcissus, one of the leaders of Metropolitan fashions." — Owen 
Johnson, "The Tennessee Shad." 

"He suddenly conceived the idea of single handed matching 
his wits against the Hydra despotism." — Owen Johnson, "The 
Eternal Boy." 

"When I awoke, I saw Mulvaney — leaning on his rifle 
at picket, lonely as Prometheus.' 1 — Rudyard Kipling, "The 
Courting of Dinah Shadd." 

"He seemed to see her like a lonely rock-bound Andromeda 
with the devouring monster Society careering up to make a 
mouthful of her." — Edith Wharton, The Custom of the Country, 
"Scribner's Magazine," January, 1913. 

"That the elective system was a great advance on the edu- 
cational Procustes-bed system which preceded it, I do not for a 
moment deny." — Charles Francis Adams, "Some Modern 
College Tendencies," p. 117. 

"The publication of this book exposed the Achilles heel of 
the South." — A. M. Simons, "Social Forces in American His- 
tory." 



Note. — As a proof that classical allusions are not confined to the English classics 
alone, collect the many references to be found in newspapers, novels, and current 
magazines. 



ISN'T IT ALTOGETHER LIKELY THAT IF YOU CAN'T 
UNDERSTAND THE LATIN AND GREEK REFER- 
ENCES YOU WILL HAVE A TENDENCY TO AVOID 
BOOKS WHICH CONTAIN THEM? BUT BY SO 
DOING YOU WILL BE DEPRIVED OF MUCH OF THE 
BEST ENGLISH LITERATURE FROM CHAUCER TO 
THE MIDDLE OF THE NINETEENTH CENTURY 

A glance at this letter of Charles Lamb's shows you how 
necessary a knowledge of Latin is if you really want to under- 
stand it: 

"I express myself muddily, capite dolente. I have a dulling 
cold. My theory is to enjoy life, but my practice is against it. I 
grow ominously tired of official confinement. Thirty years have 
I served the Philistines, and my neck is not subdued to the yoke. 
You don't know how wearisome it is to breathe the air of four pent 
walls without relief, day after day, all the golden hours of the day 
between ten and four, without ease or interposition. Taedet me 
harum quotidianarum formarum, these pestilential clerk-faces 
always in one's dish. Oh for a few years between the grave and the 
desk ! — they are the same, save that at the latter you are the outside 

machine I dare not whisper to myself a pension on this side of 

absolute incapacitation and infirmity, till years have sucked me dry; — 
Otium cum indignitate. I had thought in a green old age (Oh green 
thought!) to have retired to Ponder's End (emblematic name, how 
beautiful!), in the Ware Road, there to have made up my accounts 
with Heaven and the company, toddling about between it and Chesh- 
unt; anon stretching, on some fine Izaak Walton morning, to Hoddes- 
don or Amwell, careless as a beggar; but walking, walking ever till 
I fairly walked myself off my legs, dying walking! The hope is 
gone. I sit like Philomel all day (but not singing), with my breast 
against this thorn of a desk, with the only hope that some pulmo- 
nary affliction may relieve me." — Letter to William Wordsworth. 



23 



Note. — Mount passages from the prose of Milton, Burke, Carlyle, Macaulay, 
Goldsmith, Addison, Disraeli, etc., with classical references underlined. 



THE KNOWLEDGE OF MYTHOLOGY GAINED THROUGH 
LATIN SOURCES IS MORE INTIMATE AND MORE 
LASTING THAN THAT GAINED THROUGH ENGLISH 
ALONE; THEY SHOULD BE STUDIED TOGETHER 

The original sources often contain many personal touches, 
omitted in the ordinary textbook of mythology, which add 
very greatly to the interest of the story. For example, by com- 
paring the accounts of " Atalanta's Race" as given in Ovid and 
Gayley's "Classic Myths," or the story of the Trojan Horse, 
as given in Virgil and Gayley, it will be seen not only that 
much has been omitted in the latter but that these very passages 
are the ones that contribute most to the vividness and charm 
of the story. 



(Ovid's description of the Race of Atalanta placed beside 
that given in Gayley's "Myths," with the parts of the story 
found in the Latin and omitted in the English underlined in 
red, and the passages of the Latin that are more vividly related 
than they are in the English, underlined in green.) 

II 

(Virgil's description of the Trojan Horse, and side by side 
with this, with corresponding passages opposite, the account 
as given in Gayley, showing how much of the story is left out 
in the English rendition, and how much less vividly the details 
that are not omitted are related.) 



In answer to this question put to him by a student, " Do 
you feel that the study of Ovid and Virgil should form a back- 
ground for a high-school student's study of such a book on 
Mythology as your 'Classic Myths'?" Mr. Charles Mills 
Gayley, author of Gayley's "Classic Myths," writes as follows: 

"It is a thousand times better for a student to read the 
Virgil and the Ovid in the original with my 'Classic Myths' 
than to read the 'Classic Myths' without a first-hand knowl- 
edge of the original." — Letter to student, February 12, 1913. 



Note.— Substitute Ovid's "Atalanta's Race," or "Pyramus and Thisbe" for 
a part of the work in the Cicero year in order to allow the student to realize the above 
statement from his own experience. In connection with the latter, read Shakespeare's 
"Midsummer Night's Dream" to show that the enjoyment of the "Pyramus and 
Thisbe" incident is keener than it would have been without the Latin original. 



B. LATIN AND GREEK EXPLAIN THE TECH- 
NIQUE AND SPIRIT OF MANY POEMS 
AND MUCH OF OUR PROSE 



GENERAL STATEMENTS 

"The modern literatures have so grown up under the 
influence of the literature of Greece and Rome that the forms, 
fashions, notions, wordings, allusions of that literature have 
got deeply into them, and are an indispensable preparation for 
understanding them." — Matthew Arnold, "The Great Prophecy 
of Israel's Restoration," p. ix (Macmillan and Co., 1872). 

"The thorough study of English Literature, as such — litera- 
ture, I mean, as an art, indeed the finest of the fine arts, is 
hopeless unless based on an equally thorough study of the litera- 
ture of Greece and Rome. When so based, adequate study will 
not be found exacting either of time, or labor. To know 
Shakespeare and Milton is the pleasant and crowning consum- 
mation of knowing Homer and Aeschylus, Catullus and Vergil. 
And upon no other terms can we obtain it." — E. T. Palgrave, 
University of Oxford, Province and Study of Poetry, '*Macmil- 
lan's Magazine," LIII (1886), 334. 

"Every great English writer of prose or poetry from the 
time of King Alfred to the time of Alfred Tennyson has — almost 
without exception — been schooled in the Latin language, has 
known well some of the Latin masterpieces, and, consciously 
or not, willingly or not, has written under the influence, some- 
times indistinct, sometimes overmastering, of the Latin models." 
— Dr. S. P. Sherman, Professor of English, University of Illinois, 
English and the Latin Question, " Home and School Education." 



25 





THESE FORMS OF LITERATURE WERE CREATED BY 
THE GREEKS AND ROMANS; ONLY ONE WHO IS 
FAMILIAR WITH THE SOURCES CAN THOROUGHLY 
UNDERSTAND AND APPRECIATE THEM: 

LYRIC POETRY HISTORICAL WRITING 






Examples from Herbert, Carew, 
Suckling, and Lovelace 




A selection from Gibbon's 
"History of the Decline and 
Fall of the Roman Empire" 






Alcaeus 
Sappho 
Catullus 

THE ODE 




Thucydides 
Herodotus 
Tacitus 
Livy 

PHILOSOPHICAL WRITING 






Examples from Prior and Gray 




A selection from 
John Stuart Mill 






Sappho 
Pindar 
Horace 

Catullus 

TRAGEDY 




Plato 
Aristotle 
Seneca 
Marcus Aurelius 

COMEDY 






A selection from Shakespeare's 
Tragedy of "King Lear" 




A selection from Shakespeare's 
"Comedy of Errors" 






Aeschylus 
Euripides 
Sophocles 
Seneca 

THE EPISTLE 




Aristophanes 
Plautus 
Terence 

THE FABLE 






Selections from Dryden and 
Goldsmith 




A selection from John Gay's 
"Fables" 




26 


Horace 
Pliny 




Aesop 
Phaedrus 







THE ESSAY 




THE NOVEL 






Selections from Lamb 
and Bacon 




A selection from Scott's Novels 






Isocrates 
Cicero 
Tacitus 

EPIC POETRY 




Petronius 
TALES OF ADVENTURE 






A selection from Milton's 
"Paradise Lost" 




A selection from Swift's 
"Gulliver's Travels" 






Homer 
Virgil 

BIOGRAPHY 




Homer 
Lucian 

SATIRE 






A selection from BoswelPs 
"Life of Samuel Johnson" 




A selection from Pope's 
"Essay on Man" 






Plutarch 

Suetonius 

PASTORAL POETRY 




Lucilius 
Horace 

THE EPIGRAM 






Selections from Christopher 

Marlowe and Sir Walter 

Raleigh 




William Watson's 
"Epigram on Browning" 






Theocritus 
Virgil 

THE ELEGY 




Asclepiades 

Meleager 
Martial 

THE ORATION 






Selection from Dryden's "On 

the Death of a Very Young 

Gentleman" 




Selection from Edmund Burke 






Tyrtaeus 
Solon 

Simonides 
Propertius 




Isocrates 
Lysias 

Demosthenes 
Cicero 


27 



Note. — Mount the above selections 
sources in typewritten form beneath. 



from English literature with the classical 



C. THE STUDY OF LATIN AND GREEK DE- 
VELOPS POWER IN THE USE OF ENGLISH 



TRANSLATION AFFORDS AN OPPORTUNITY FOR DAILY 
PRACTICE IN THE USE OF PRECISE AND VIGOROUS 
ENGLISH 

Because a Latin word often has many meanings and shades 
of meaning in English, it is sometimes a very difficult matter in 
translating to choose the right one. For example, the very 
common word "magnus" does not always mean "great," but, 
as the following diagram shows, has a very large number of 
meanings whose choice calls for a keen literary sense and a 
feeling for exactness in the use of words. The exercise of this 
critical faculty may be made a very practical training in the 
way of English expression. 




28 



Note. — The above illustrations of the various meanings of "magnus" are taken 
from an article in the Classical Journal, February, 1910, by H. C. Nutting, entitled "The 
Translation of Latin." In the same way work out the meanings of "res" and "ratio." 



OPINIONS AS TO THE VALUE OF TRANSLATION FROM 
GREEK OR LATIN AS A TRAINING IN ENGLISH 
EXPRESSION: 

Macaulay thus testifies to the value of the exercise of trans- 
lation in the training of the great English orator, William Pitt: 

"But the classical studies of William Pitt .... had the effect of 
enriching his English vocabulary and of making him wonderfully 
expert in the art of constructing correct English sentences. His prac- 
tice was to look over a page or two of a Greek or Latin author, to make 
himself master of the meaning and then to read the passage straight 

forward into his own language It is not strange that a young 

man of great abilities, who had been exercised daily in this way during 
ten years should have acquired almost unrivalled power of putting 
his thoughts without premeditation into words well selected and well 
arranged."— Biography of William Pitt, Whitehall Ed. of "Mis- 
cellaneous Works of Lord Macaulay," VII, 121. 

"It is still an open question whether any direct method of teaching 
English really takes the place of the drill in the niceties of style 
that can be derived from translation, especially the translation of 
Latin; whether a student, for example, who rendered Cicero with 
due regard for the delicate shades of meaning would not gain more 
mastery of English (to say nothing of Latin) than a student who 
devoted the same amount of time to daily themes and original 
compositions."— Irving Babbitt, "Literature and the American 
College," p. 242. 

"Translation compels us to such a choosing and testing, to so 
nice a discrimination of sound, propriety, position and shade of mean- 
ing, that we now first learn the secret of the words we have been using 
or misusing all our lives, and are gradually made aware that to set 
forth even the plainest matter as it should be set forth, is not only a 
very difficult thing calling for thought and practice, but an affair 
of conscience as well."— James Russell Lowell, Study of Modern 
Languages, "Latest Literary Essays," p. 140 (Houghton Mifflin Co., 
1892). 



29 



SOME OF THE STRONGEST CHAMPIONS OF LATIN 
ARE TEACHERS OF ENGLISH 

"To the serious student of English some acquaintance with 
Latin is not merely convenient, not merely valuable, but quite 
literally indispensable. At every onward step toward the 
mastery of his own language and literature, he must use his 
Latin lamp if he have one, or stumble and go astray in the dark 
ness if he has not .... a man may as well try to reach Eng- 
land without a boat as to attain proficiency in English without 
Latin." — -Dr. S. P. Sherman, Professor of English, University 
of Illinois, "English and the Latin Question," a pamphlet pub- 
lished by "Home and School Education." 

"As a teacher of English I have found students trained in 
Latin better than others for at least two obvious reasons: 
Until very lately, and I should say still, hardly anybody has 
written in the English language memorably who has not studied 
Latin at school; and nothing but a tolerable familiarity with 
Latin roots can prevent stupid misuse of words derived from 
Latin, such as 'prominent identity.' History and common 
sense, then, combine to make Latin the only sound foundation 
of literary English." — Barrett Wendell, Professor of English, 
Harvard University. Letter to student, March 10, 1013. 

"We like to have our girls trained in the classics. There is 
an observable fineness of fibre and intellectual discrimination in 
students so trained." — Head of the English Department in a 
leading college for women. Quoted in Latin as a Practical 
Study, by Albert S. Perkins, "Classical Journal," April, 1913. 



30 



"Every English-speaking student should, give himself at 
'least one year's honest trial in the study of Latin. Latin is the 
best available training in general grammatical concepts. The 
grammatical dexterity slowly acquired through Latin study is 
of direct and immediate use in English. Latin also widens 
English vocabulary and makes for accuracy and truth of state- 
ment. Latin literature furnishes the key to the understanding 
of the great body of English literature. The ideas embodied in 
Latin literature are the ideas that engaged the attention of 
those who wrote English literature up to very recent times. 
Acquaintance with some of these ideas in the language in 
which they were originally expressed enables the student to get 
the right feeling for them." — J. V. Denney, Professor of English, 
Ohio State University. Letter to author, February 10, 1913. 

"I am the fullest believer in the study of Latin for him who 
seeks the best sort of education. So far as my own observation 
has gone, whenever the acceptance or rejection of the language 
has lain in the choice of students, those taking it have invari- 
ably included far the larger proportion of the best students. It 
is one of the best instruments to train educated men. It will 
even train them to make money, which some people seem to 
regard as the main object for which education was devised." 
— T. R. Lounsbury, Emeritus professor of English, Yale Uni- 
versity. Letter to student, January 29, 1913. 



31 



Ill 

LATIN IS THE FOUN- 
DATION OF FRENCH, 
ITALIAN, SPANISH, 

PORTUGUESE, 

AND ROUMANIAN. 

IT IS ALSO A GOOD 

BASIS FOR THE 

STUDY OF 

LANGUAGE IN 

GENERAL 



LATIN IS NOT A "DEAD" LANGUAGE; IT HAS ONLY 
CHANGED ITS NAME 




Map of the Roman Empire in the first cen- 
tury a.d., showing the extent to which 
popular Latin was at one time spoken. 



" Popular Latin has never ceased to exist. It is the language 
of France, Spain, Italy, Roumania, and all the Romance coun- 
tries of today. Its history has been unbroken from the found- 
ing of Rome to the present time." — Professor Frank Frost 
Abbott, "The Common People of Ancient Rome," p. 73. 

"Their original progenitors (Roumanian) were a colony of 
Roman soldiers established on the banks of the Danube by the 
Emperor Trajan in a.d. 106. Their language descends from the 
rustic Latin of these soldiers, and in spite of long isolation, 
surrounded by Slavonic tongues, it retains its Latin characteris- 
tic to a remarkable extent, so much so that anyone reasonably 
familiar with Latin will be able to read a Roumanian newspaper 
with but little difficulty."— Kenneth McKenzie, "National 
Geographic Magazine," December, 1912. 



"In our Romance department here we should not think of 
accepting a student for graduate work who has not studied Latin. 
For intelligent advanced study of either the languages or the 
literatures, it is indispensable, and the wider and deeper the 
Latin preparation, the better the chance that the student will 
develop into a sound and effective Romance scholar." — Edward 
C. Armstrong, Professor of Romance Languages, Johns Hop- 
kins University. Letter to author, May 14, 1913. 



34 



Note. — A Roumanian newspaper called "Amicul Poporului" may be obtained 
at 1505 Girard St., Chicago. 



THE FACT 


THAT LATIN IS THE BASIS OF SPANISH, 


ITALIAN, AND 


FRENCH 


ACCOUNTS 


FOR THIS 


STRIKING SIMILARITY: 






Latin 


Spanish 


Italian 


French 


English 


fructus 


fruta 


frutto 


fruit 


fruit 


infans 


infante 


infante 


enfant 


infant i 


difficilis 


dificil 


difficile 


difficile 


difficult 


honor 


honor 


onore 


honneur 


honor 


gloria 


gloria 


gloria 


gloire 


glory 


generalis 


general 


generale 


general 


general 


natura 


natura 


natura 


nature 


nature 


vestibulum 


vestibulo 


vestibolo 


vestibule 


vestibule 


flos 


flor 


fiore 


fleur 


flower 


animal 


animal 


animale 


animal 


animal 


fatalis 


fatal 


fatale 


fatal 


fatal 


pars 


parte 


parte 


partie 


part 


rosa 


rosa 


rosa 


rose 


rose 


praeparare 


preparar 


preparare 


preparer 


prepare 


sermo 


sermon 


sermone 


sermon 


sermon 

35 



THE BLACK SHOWS THE PERCENTAGE OF WORDS 
IN ITALIAN, FRENCH, AND SPANISH WHICH A 
LATIN STUDENT DOES NOT NEED TO LOOK UP 
IN THE DICTIONARY 




Italian, at least 90 per cent (probably more) 




36 Spanish, at least 90 per cent (probably more) 



Note. — For Italian, see F. Diez, "Grammatik. der romanischen Sprachen," 
1882, p. 63; "mochte noch nicht der zehnte Teil ihrer Stammworter unlateinisch 
sein." For French, see Brunot in Petit de Julleville's "Histoire" (I, x), who says the 
percentage is "more than 90." 



THE UNDERLINED WORDS ON THIS PAGE FROM A 
FRENCH MAGAZINE, SHOW THE EXTENT TO 
WHICH FRENCH IS INDEBTED TO LATIN: 

La Guerre Italo-Turque— La Question des Dardanelles 
" En toute chose il faut considerer la fin," a dit le bon La 
Fontaine . Ce tres sage conseil est difficile a suivre dans les 
affaires de la politique, car la fin ne s'y decouvre jamais long- 
temps a l'avance. Mais quand on s'embarque dans une grosse 
entreprise, il faut au moins considerer "la suite." II est mani- 



fest^ aujourd'hui que le gouvernement italien s'est engage dans 
1' affaire tripolitaine sans prevoir, ni l'etendue des difficultes qu'il 
rencontrerait pour s'etablir dans sa conquete, ni l'obstination 
de la Turquie a maintenir ses droits sur la derniere province 
qu'elle possedait en Afrique. ' 

Le contraste entre la bonne organisation militaire de 
I' expedition, la brillante activite de la flotte italienne, l'emploi 
judicieux des forces mises en mouvement, et l'absence d'un plan 
d'action tenant compte d'eventualites qu'on devait tenir pour 
probables, reste inexplique. Ce contraste est d'autant plus 
frappant que l'ltalie ayant choisi son heure et se sachant a 
l'abri des entreprises de son adversaire, avait, tout en preparant 
rouverture des hostilites, le loisir de songer aux moyens par 
lesquels elle y mettrait fin. 

Cependant, apres plusieurs mois d'hesitation cedant a la 
pression de rppinion publique enervee par de si longs retards, 
le cabinet de Rome s'est decide, d'abord a faire une sorte de 
demonstration contre les defenses de KumlCaleh, a l'entree des 
Dardanelles, le 18 avril dernier, puis a s'emparer successivement 
des lies de l'archipel des Sporades meridionales, situe entre les 
Cyclades (qui sont grecques) , la Crete et l'Asie mineure, Rhodes, 
la principale, a ete occupee sans resistance serieuse, le 4 de ce 
mois . Dans les journees suivantes, le. pavilion italien a ete 
arbore sur les lies Tasos, Karpathos, Naxos et une demi douzaine 
d'autres. Le 19 avril, un cuirasse et un torpilleur avaient bom- 
barde Samos, abattu le drapeau turc, et y avaient coule un 
yacht, mais sans effectuer de debarquement. L'ile de Samos 
etant une principaute autonome, ne dependant guere que 
nominalement de la Turquie, ces exercices de tir etaient au moins 
in utiles. — " Revue des Francais," May 25, 1912, pp. 12-13. 

37 



Note. — These words fall under the three classes given in the plan of the 
'Dictionnaire General," e.g., I, du latin; II, derive du latin; III, emprunte du latin. 



LATIN SIMPLIFIES MANY POINTS IN FRENCH 
GRAMMAR 

I. Note the Similarity in the Present Tense of the 
Verb "To Be": 

Latin French 

Singular Plural Singular Plural 

ego sum nos sumus je suis nous sommes 

tu es vos estis tu es vous etes 

ille est illi sunt il est ils sont 

II. The Gender of Nouns, a Very Troublesome Point in 
French Grammar, is robbed of its difficulty for the Latin 
student, because masculine and feminine Latin nouns 
retain their genders in French, while Latin neuters are 
regularly masculine. — "French Grammar," S. 301, Fraser 
and Squair. 

LATIN FRENCH 

murus, m, wall mur, m. 

liber, m., book livre, m. 

iustitia, injustice justice, f. 

manus, f., hand main, f. 

corpus, n., body corps, m. 

verbum, n., word verbe, m. 

III. Latin Constructions Are Very Common in French 

DATIVE OF REFERENCE 
Latin 

transfigitur scutum Pulloni, Caes., "B.G.," V, 44 
Pullo's shield is pierced ("to Pullo") 

French 

lis se lavent les mains 

They wash their hands ("to themselves") 

PARTITIVE GENITIVE 

Latin 

quicquam negoti, Caes., "B.G.," II, 17 

any difficulty ("anything of difficulty") 

French 

Je n'ai pas de livres 

/ have no books ("I have not of books") 

38 



THE UNDERLINED WORDS IN THIS ITALIAN DOCU- 
MENT ARE ALL OF LATIN ORIGIN; NOTICE THAT 
THE PERCENTAGE IS VERY LARGE 

PROCLAMATION OF THE ITALIAN AMBASSADOR TO THE ITALIANS 

OF AMERICA ON THE OCCASION OF THE EARTHQUAKE IN 

DECEMBER, 1908 

"Italiani di America: 

I disastri di Calabria e di Sicilia devono accomunare gli 
animi nostri in un pensiero di amore per la grande Madre antica, 
orbata di tanti suoi figli, in un pensiero di solidarita coi fratelli 
afflitti da tanta sventura. 

Membri di una vasta famiglia, dimostriamo coi fatti che la 
disgrazia dei nostri connazionali e da noi sinceramente e pro- 
fondamente sentit a. Non vani compianti, ma efficaci soccorsi 
si richieggono. 

L'ltalia sopporto altre prove dolorose e risorse. Cosi anche 
questa volta, merce il volere intelligente e concorde del POpolo 
e del suo Augusto Sovrano, corso, come sempre, in doloroso 
pellegrinaggio, sui luoghi piu colpiti, l'ltalia trionfera delle 
cieche forze della natura. E proprio dei forti lo attingere dalla 
calamita, nuove energie. Sulle rovine di Messina e di Reggio 
fioriranno ben presto citta piu prospere e piu. belle. II Popolo 
Italiano puo essere colpito, non abbattuto. 

Intanto se nel momento piu grave alcunche puo lenire 
l'acerbazione del nostro dolore, valgano a cio le simpatie del 
mondo civile, valga la generosa fratellanza che ci dimostra 
il gran Popolo Americano. 

In alto i cuori." 

L'Ambasciatore di sua Maesta. 



"Washington, D.C., 30 Decembre, 1908." 

39 



THESE MUSICAL 


TERMS COMING THROUGH THE 


ITALIAN ARE CLEAR TO A LATIN STUDENT: 




A sheet of music with the Italian words and the Latin from 
which they have come, given in parallel columns. 




Italian 


Latin 


English 


opus 


opus 


a musical work 


a tempo 


tempus 


in time 


moderato 


moderatus 


moderately 


agitato 


agitatus 


agitated 


legato 


ligatus 


smoothly connected 


dolce 


dulcis 


soft and smooth 


grazioso 


gratiosus 


smoothly 


allegro 


alacer 


lively 


con spirito 


cum spiritu 


with animation 


f. (forte) 

ff. (fortissimo) 


fortis 
fortissimus 


firm (and loud) 
very loud 


mf. (mezzo forte) 


medius and fortis moderately loud 


accel. (accelerando) 


accelerare 


accelerating 


rit. (ritardando) 


retardare 


retarding 


cresc. (crescendo) 


crescere 


with increasing vol- 
ume of tone 


decresc. (decrescendo) 


decrescere 


with decreasing vol- 
ume of tone 


dim. (diminuendo) 


deminuere 


with abatement of tone 


da capo 


de capite 


from the head or be- 
ginning 


40 







Note. — To show the importance of Italian for the music lover, post programs of 
such concerts as those of the Thomas Orchestra of Chicago; also some pages from the 
catalogue of the Victor Record Company (Chicago, 111.), giving the titles of famous 
operas, etc. 



IT IS NOT ONLY ENGLISH LITERATURE THAT IS DE- 
PENDENT ON A KNOWLEDGE OF THE CLASSICS 
FOR ITS FULL MEANING, BUT FRENCH AND 
ITALIAN AS WELL 

The following illustrations from the "Inferno" show that 
the greatest poem in the Italian language, Dante's "Divine 
Comedy, " is saturated with the influence of Virgil: 

i. The idea of the journey to the lower world is taken 
from Virgil. Dante thus testifies to the fact that Virgil is his 
master: 

" honor and light of the other poets ! May the long study 
avail me and the great love which has made me search thy 
volume! Thou art my master and my author; thou alone art 
he from whom I took the fair style that has done me honor!" 

2. Virgil himself is Dante's guide. 

3. Ninety-five of the characters whom Dante meets are 
classical. 

4. The topography is partly classical, e.g., the rivers Ache- 
ron, Styx, Phlegethon, and Cocytus, the city of Dis, etc. 

5. The category of sins resembles that of Virgil. 

6. Many details of the journey are like those given by Virgil, 
e.g., the meeting with Charon, Cerberus, Minos, the Furies, 
the Harpies, etc. 

7. The style is often strikingly similar to that of Virgil. 



41 



Note. — Such French writers as Racine offer abundant illustrations of this point. 



A LATIN STUDENT NEED NEVER BE HUNGRY IN SPAIN; 


HE CAN READ THIS BILL OF FARE: 




Spanish 


Latin 


English 


ostras 


ostreae 


oysters 


huevos 


ova 


eggs 


carne 


caro, carnis 


meat 


vaca 


vacca 


beef 


pescado 


piscis 


fish 


polio 


pullus 


chicken 


puerco 


porcum 


pork 


pan 


panis 


bread- 


fruta 


fructus 


fruit 


uvas 


uvae 


grapes 


nueces 


nuces 


nuts 


sal 


sal 


salt 


vino 


vinum 


wine 


helados 


gelidus 


ices 


melon 


melo 


melon 


dulces 


dulces 


candies 


agua 


aqua 


water 


queso 


caseum 


cheese 


42 







OBSERVE THE STRIKING SIMILARITY BETWEEN THE 
LATIN AND THE SPANISH OF THE APOSTLES' 
CREED 



Latin 
Credo in Deum, Patrem om- 
nipotentem, Creatorem coeli et 
terrae. Et in Jesum Christum, 
Filium ejus unicum, Dominum 
nostrum, qui conceptus est de 
Spiritu Sancto, natus ex Maria 
Virgine, passus sub Pontio Pilato, 
crucifixus, mortuus, et sepultus; 
descendit ad inferos: tertia die 
resurrexit a mortuis: ascendit 
ad coelos, sedet ad dextram 
Dei Patris omnipotentis : inde 
venturus est judicare vivos et 
mortuos. Credo in Spiritum 
Sanctum, sanctam Ecclesiam 
catholicam, sanctorum communi- 
onem, remissionem peccatorum, 
carnis resurrectionem, vitam 
aeternam. 

Amen. 



Spanish 
Creo en Dios Padre, Todo- 
poderoso, Criador del cielo y de 
la tierra. Y en Jesucristo, su 
unico Hijo, nuestro Sefior, que 
fue concebido por obra del 
Espiritu Santo. Y nacio de 
Santa Maria Virgen. Padecio 
debajo del poder de Poncio 
Pilato. Fue crucifkado, muerto 
y sepultado. Descendio a los 
infiernos. Al tercer dia resucito 
de entre los muertos. Subio a 
los cielos. Esta sentado a la 
diestra de Dios Padre Topodero- 
so. Desde alii ha de venir a 
juzgar a los vivos y a los muertos. 
Creo en el Espiritu Santo, la 
Santa Iglesia catolica, la comun- 
ion de los Santos, el perdon 
de los pecados, la resurrection 
de la carne y la vida perdurable^ 



43 



LATIN HELPS ONE IN LEARNING GERMAN 

Because learning Latin grammar is only learning the prin- 
ciples of grammar in general, the study is of assistance in acquir- 
ing almost any well-developed language. While it is of course 
especially helpful in learning the Romance languages, it forms a 
very good basis also for the study of German which resembles 
it in being highly inflected. 

OPINIONS OF PROMINENT GERMAN TEACHERS ON THE VALUE 
OF LATIN FOR THE WORK OF THEIR DEPARTMENT 

"In general I may say that the thorough scholarly study of Latin 
Grammar will certainly be of great advantage to the student of Ger- 
man."— Max Winkler, Head of German Department, University of 
Michigan. Letter to student, March 14, 1913. 

"You ask whether in my opinion the study of Latin would be of 
actual benefit to a University graduate student just entering on the 
study of German. I answer "yes" most emphatically. The help 
afforded in this respect by a previous study of Latin is of great value 
whether on the grammatical, the literary, or the artistic side of the 
study of German Language and Literature." — Henry Wood, Profes- 
sor of German, Johns Hopkins University. Letter to author, May 2 1 , 
IQI3- 

"I believe strongly in the utility of Latin Latin does help 

German but then German also helps Latin." — Calvin Thomas, 
Department of Germanic Languages, Columbia University. Letter 
to student, March 14, 1913. 



44 



IV 



LATIN AFFORDS 



EXCELLENT 



MENTAL TRAINING 



TRANSLATION FROM LATIN AND 


THE WRITING OF 


PROSE DEVELOP HABITS OF MENTAL ACCURACY 


THAT HELP IN ANY WALK IN LIFE 




K 


1 Part of speech ? 


Z 




H 


■ Case? 


c 




t" 1 


■ Why? 


t -1 




< 


■ Number? 


C/l 

en 




M 


| Gender ? 






H 


| Comes from what ? 


> 

2 




HH 


■ Meaning? 


H 






| Part of speech? 




H 


HI 


| Case? 
Q Number? 




a 


*J 


| Gender ? 


« K3 


ffi 


W 


| Agreement ? 


en a 

w 2 


n 




| Comes from what ? 








| Meaning? 


§ 3 


3 
en 


^i 


| Part of speech? 






O 


| Degree? 


> W 
° 5 




W 


| Case ? 


B 


H 


H Number? 


> 3 


< 


Q 


I Gender? 


s > 


en 




| Agreement ? 

| Comes from what ? 


53 ^ 


1-1 


en 


| Meaning? 




CD 






M > 


r. 






21 ti 


EL 






>l 


nT 






2; en 


P- 


> 




X > 


cr 


hi 




1— ( W 


t-t 






en h 


p 
< 


hj 


| Part of speech? 


t -1 S 


^ 
►i 




B Mood? 
| Person ? 




r- 1 
> 


| Number? 


g 






| Voice? 







> 


| Tense? 


H 
C 




2 


| Comes from what ? 


a 




H 


| Meaning? 


g 






c 








w 




en 
H 
> 

O 


46 









Note. — This illustration should take the form of a chart six feet long with the 
squares above the words in various colors to indicate the different points. In connec- 
tion with the subject of Latin and mental training, see the " Nature of Culture Studies" 
by Professor R. M. Wenley, University of Michigan, reprinted in chap, iv of F. W. 
Kelsey's "Latin and Greek in American Education." 



LATIN DEVELOPS THE CRITICAL SENSE AND A FEEL- 
ING FOR RELATIONS, A TRAINING WHICH IS OF 
THE GREATEST POSSIBLE VALUE 

"Ability to write decent Latin prose, with dictionary at 
elbow, simply cannot be acquired without at the same time 
inducing the kind of mental organization which at length 
enables a man to go anywhere and do anything, as a great 
general .... phrased it. And I draw the proof from my 
own experience. The most effective masters of the 'positive' 
sciences known to me personally are invariably the men who 
have first acquired the mental organization which the culture 
studies confer; of this fact they are quite aware themselves. 
A creed was impressed upon them in these early years; not 
simply work, and still work, but work in a certain fashion. 
They gained connective processes; thereafter the rest is, not 
only easier, but immensely more efficient." — R. M. Wenley, 
Head of Department of Philosophy, University of Michigan, 
"Nature of Culture Studies" (quoted on p. 71 of F. W. Kelsey's 
"Latin and Greek in American Education"). 

"But this truth appears clearly — namely, that if we think 
of the study of language not merely as the search for a tool, but 
the striving for a bracing exercise of the mind and a discipline 
of the perceptive and reasoning powers, the classical courses 
offer a robuster training than can be got by the ordinary boy 
out of any modern grammar." — Article, Utility and Discipline, 
"The Nation," January 23, 1913. 



47 



THE MOST "PRACTICAL" TRAINING YOU CAN HAVE 
FOR SUCCESSFULLY MEETING THE EXPERIENCES 
OF LIFE IS ONE THAT DEVELOPS CONTROL OF 
YOUR WILL, e.g., THE POWER OF VOLUNTARY 
ATTENTION 

The very derivation of the words for the two kinds of atten- 
tion, voluntary and involuntary (L. volo, e.g., involving will, 
and L. in and volo, e.g., not involving will), shows that the power 
of voluntary attention is altogether more valuable than the 
power of involuntary attention, if, as President Butler of 
Columbia University says, training of the will is the chief end 
of education. 

ILLUSTRATIONS OF THE TWO KINDS OF ATTENTION 

Voluntary Involuntary 

Things which are not especially Things which require no effort of 

interesting to you in themselves and the will in the way of attention because 

which therefore require a real effort they have an absorbing interest for 

of the will to accomplish: you: 

i. Taking care of the furnace, i. Building a flying machine, 

cutting the lawn, washing the a boat, etc. 

dishes, etc. 2. Driving an automobile 

2. Practicing at the piano 3. Watching the circus or a 

3. Sewing — especially mending striking show of any kind 

4. Getting a hard lesson which 4. Studying anything which 
you would rather not get especially appeals to your interest 

"The practical aim of a general education, I have said, is such a 
training as shall enable a man to devote his faculties intently to mat- 
ters which of themselves do not interest him. The power which 
enables a man to do so is obviously the power of voluntary as dis- 
tinguished from spontaneous attention. It is precisely this faculty 
of voluntary attention which education, in the largest sense, can 

most surely cultivate That faculty clearly distinguished the 

college student of 30 years ago from the flabbier students of today. 
And that faculty, I believe these famous masters of it ... . gained 
largely from that elder system of education to which they had been 
forced to submit. Now no one, I equally believe, can gain it to any- 
thing like the same degree from rnethods as yet devised by apostles of 
the kindergarten." — Barrett Wendell, Professor of English, Harvard 
University, "The Privileged Classes," pp. 171-73. 



V 

LATIN AND GREEK 

ARE ESSENTIAL 

TO AN INTIMATE 

KNOWLEDGE 

OF ART 

AND DECORATIVE 

DESIGNS IN 

GENERAL 



AN UNDERSTANDING AND APPRECIATION OF THE 
MASTERPIECES OF GREEK AND ROMAN ART MAY 
COME THROUGH ENGLISH SOURCES; HOWEVER, 
THE COLLEGE MAN WITH A CLASSICAL TRAINING 
IS IN A POSITION TO KNOW THEM MORE INTI- 
MATELY 

The Latin senior in high school understands these pictures 
better than one who has not read Virgil: 





The Fates 




Jupiter 




Juno 




Venus 
























Cupid 




Neptune 




Mercury 




Laocoon 






















5° 


Helen of Troy 




Paris 




Ulysses 




Hector 





Note. — In the same way mount such pictures as Guido Reni's "Aurora" or the 
classical paintings of Maxfield Parrish (appearing from time to time in Collier's 
Weekly) ; also illustrations in general of famous masterpieces of Greek and Roman art. 
The following firms supply inexpensive prints: Perry Pictures: Flanagan Co., 521 
S. Wabash Ave., Chicago; Brown's Pictures: Thomas Charles Co., 125 N. Wabash 
Ave., Chicago; The University Prints: University Bureau of Travel, Boston, Mass.; 
Blue-prints — Earl Thompson Co., Syracuse, N.Y. 



THE MODERN WORLD STILL CONTINUES TO EXPRESS 
CERTAIN IDEAS IN TERMS OF GREEK AND ROMAN 
THOUGHT AS IS SHOWN IN THESE DECORATIVE 
DESIGNS AND PICTURES: 




XAR&lRS 

RAGTIME 

BAND 

TWO-STEP 




RVING BERLI 



MUSIC — represented by Pan and his pipes 



5i 



Note. — For the pipes as a symbol for literature, see the Houghton Mifflin 
trade-mark. 















Cover of the 

"Novelty News," 

1912 




Cover of the 

"Outlook" or "Harper's," 

1912 






TRADE, represented by Mercury 
god of commerce 




CIVILIZATION, represented by 
the torch 






Cover of the 

"Century," 

Around-the-World Number, 

September, 191 1 




Cover of 

"Nineteenth Century," 
1913 






TRAVEL, represented by Mercury 
god of travelers 




BROAD-MINDEDNESS, repre- 
sented by the head of Janus 
facing in two directions 






Poster of the 

Exposition in Rome, summer 

of 191 1 ; also cover of 

"Poetry," 

1013 




Cover of the 

"Outlook" 
September 23, 191 1 




52 


POETRY, represented by Pegasus, 
the horse of the Muses 




ABUNDANCE, represented by the 

horn of plenty 





Advertisement of 
Men's Clothing in the 
"Chicago Daily News," 

October 13, 191 2 



Cover of 

Illinois Theatre program, 

Chicago, 111. 



MANLY BEAUTY, represented by 

Apollo 



The DRAMA, represented by Greek 
and Roman masques 



Advertisement of 
Borden's Eagle Brand Con- 
densed Milk, New York 



Cartoon by 

McCutcheon in the "Tribune' 

for May 24, 1913 



SUPREMACY, represented by the 
eagle, the bird of Zeus 



LOVE, represented by Cupid 



Poster of the 

Automobile Show, Chicago, 

February, 191 2 



Cover of 

"Literary Digest," 
1911 



SWIFTNESS, represented by Mer- 
cury, the winged messenger of 
the gods 



WISDOM and LEARNING, repre- 
sented by Athena 



53 



A VERY LARGE NUMBER OF MAGAZINE ARTICLES 
HAVE CLASSICAL DESIGNS AT THE BEGINNING 
OR END WHICH BEAR DIRECTLY UPON THE 
MEANING OF THE ARTICLE; YOU WILL ENJOY 
THEM MORE IF YOU ARE ABLE TO PERCEIVE 
THIS RELATION 




MUNICIPAL NON-PARTIZANSHIP 
IN OPERATION 

WHAT HAS BEEN SAVED AND GAINED IN NEW YORK 

IN THE FIRST SIX MONTHS OF MAYOR 

GAYNOR'S ADMINISTRATION 

BY JAMES CREELMAN 

IN considering Mayor Gaynor's dem- of the people The faults of the State 

onstration of the possibilities of mu- governments are insignificant compared 

nicipal government divorced from national vvith the extravagance, corruption, and 

or State politics, and free from the control mismanagement which mark the adminis- 

THE RODS AND THE FASCES 

A Roman symbol for the authority of the government ("Century 
Magazine," June, 191 1). 

OTHER EXAMPLES 

A shepherd boy playing his pipes as a decorative device for 
an article entitled "Memories of a Musical Life" ("Century 
Magazine"). 

Themis, goddess of justice, with the scales, as a heading to 
an article entitled "Violence in the Woman Suffrage Move- 
ment" ("Century Magazine"). 

The wings and caduceus of Mercury, god of travel, for an 
article entitled "The Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers" 
("Century Magazine"). 



54 





GREEK MOLDINGS, ORNAMENTS, AND DESIGNS 
IN GENERAL ARE VERY COMMON AS DECO- 
RATIVE DEVICES 






City Hall, Chicago 111., or almost any public building 






Greek moldings on modern buildings 






Cover of the "Outlook," July 27, 1912 






Greek borders on magazines, etc. 






Advertisement of Russwin Builders' Hardware in the 
Greek style in the "Architectural Record," March, 1913 






Classical designs in ornamental iron work, etc. 






Lamps in the Northwestern Railway Station, Chicago, 
111., or almost any public building of similar design 






Lamps of classical design 


55 



Note. — Post such illustrations from magazines as the "Yale Lock," or similar 
advertisements in the "Architectural Record." Richly ornamented ceilings of theatres, 
etc., also furnish much illustrative material, and the interior decorations of many 
private houses afford a surprisingly large number of examples in this connection. 



PUBLIC MONUMENTS ARE OFTEN CLASSICAL 
IN DESIGN 



The Lincoln Memorial Building at Lincoln, Neb. 



Memorial to James McNeil Whistler at West Point, 
N.Y. "Century Magazine," March, 1908 



Statue of the Sleeping Endymion on the grave of 
William Henry Rinehart in Baltimore, Maryland. "Cen- 
tury Magazine," August, 191 2 



The Henry Chase Lea Memorial at Philadelphia, Penn- 
sylvania. "Architectural Record," March, 1913 



56 



VI 



LATIN AND GREEK 



WORDS FORM A 



LARGE PART OF THE 



TERMINOLOGY 



OF SCIENCE 



LATIN AND GREEK ARE THE KEYS TO THE MEANING 
OF THE TERMS IN PHYSIOLOGY 

Did You Know: 

That there are more than 200 bones in your body, every 
one of which has a Greek or Latin name ? 

That in science you are known as homo sapiens ? 

That you cannot sneeze without using 55 pairs of muscles 
with Greek or Latin names ? 

That the tendon of Achilles enables you to stand on tiptoe ? 

That the orbicularis oris is absolutely indispensable in 
whistling ? 

That you are the possessor of eight bicuspids? 

That the sartorius is the longest muscle in the body, and 
that it enables tailors to sit cross-legged ? 

That the risorius is one of 12 laughing muscles, and the 
platysma one of the (only) six grieving muscles? 

That your sister's piano-playing is largely a matter of the 
flexores digitorum sublimes et flexores digitorum profundi? 

That if your trabeculae carneae should slacken, it would 
mean speedy death for you ? 

That you who wear glasses are victims of myopia, hyper- 
metropia, presbyopia, or astigmatism? 

That Adam's apple is the thyroid cartilage — whatever 
Eve's may have been ? 

That the olecranon process is the true name of your 
"funny" bone? 

That the two sides of your body would not w T ork together 
except for the pons Varolii ? 

That you could not have the toothache without the nerve 
trigeminus, nor be seasick without the vagus nerve ? 

That there are people who, like the donkey, can use the 
attrahens auris, retrahens auris, and attolens auris? 

That without the orbicularis oculi you could not go to 
sleep tonight ? 



58 



Note. — Hang this above a skeleton with the Latin names attached to each bone. 



IT IS EASIER TO REMEMBER THE MEANING OF THESE 
TERMS IN PHYSICS IF YOU UNDERSTAND GREEK 
AND LATIN; OTHERWISE YOU ARE APT TO FOR- 
GET THEM ENTIRELY, OR AT ANY RATE TO CON- 
FUSE THEM 

Heat conduction, from Latin conduco, lead, transference of heat 

from molecule to molecule. 
Heat convection, from Latin conveho, carry or convey, con- 
veyance of heat by movement of large masses of liquid 

carried from one point to another. 
Centrifugal force, from Latin centrum, center, and fugio, flee, 

tendency to move away from the center of a rotating mass. 
Adhesion, from Latin ad, to, and haereo, cling, a force binding 

the molecules of one substance to those of another. 
Cohesion, from Latin cum, together, and haereo, cling, a force 

binding molecules of the same kind together. 
Capillary tubes, from Latin capillus, hair, tubes resembling hairs. 
Aqueous, from Latin aqua, pertaining to water. 
Tensile strength, from Latin teneo, hold, strength of forces 

holding together certain molecules. 
A calorie, from Latin calor, heat, a heat unit. 
Ductibility, from Latin duco, draw, power of being drawn out 

into thin wire. 
Permeability, from Latin per, through, and meo, go, power of 

allowing magnetism to go through such a substance as 

soft iron. 

The metric system is easy if you remember that these Greek 
and Latin prefixes are added to the standard units, meter, liter, 
and gram (also Greek), to produce the multiples and sub- 
multiples : 

deka, ten deci, tenth 

hecto, hundred centi, hundredth 

kilo, thousand milli, thousandth 



59 



THE TERMS USED IN ZOOLOGY ARE LATIN AND 
GREEK; KNOWLEDGE OF THEM SAVES BOTH 
TIME AND ENERGY 

The Scientific Names of All Animals Are Latin or 
Greek, as: 

' man (homo sapiens) rabbit (lepus) 

horse (equus) lion (leo) 

cat (felis) tiger (tigris) 

dog (canis) goat (capra) 

mouse (mus) sheep (ovis) 

fox (vulpes) pig (sus) 

The Branches and the Various Classes of the Animal 
Kingdom Have Names of Classical Origin, as the Follow- 
ing Examples Show: 

Branches, i. porifera, from porus, pore, and ferre, to bear. 

2. vermes, from vermis, worm. 

3. mollusca, from molluscus, soft. 

4. vertebrata, from vertere, to turn, change 

Classes, 1. gregarinida, from grex, herd. 

2. rotatoria, from rota, wheel. 

3. annulata, from annulus, ring. 

4. tunicata, from tunica, tunic. 

In the Following Table, Which Expresses the Zoologi- 
cal Position of the Cat, the Words of Latin Derivation 
Are Italicized: 

Kingdom of Animals; 

Sub-kingdom or Branch, Vertebrata; 
Class, Mammalia; 
Order, Carnivora; 
Family, Felidae; 
Genus, Felis; 

Species, Felis domesticus; 
Variety, Angorensis; 

Individual, a single Angora cat. 



60 



THE TERMINOLOGY OF CHEMISTRY IS . CLASSICAL 

Derivation of names of the common chemical elements: 
aluminum, from alumen, alum. 
argon, from dpyo's, lazy, inert. 
arsenic, from arsenicum, arsenic. 
barium, from /fopus, heavy. 
bromine, from /8/scoyu.os, evil odor. 
cadmium, from cadmia, calamine, zinc. 
calcium, from calx, limestone. 
carbon, from carbo, coal. 
chlorine, from xA«pos, greenish yellow. 
chromium, from xP<V a ; color. 

copper, from cuprum (Cyprium aes, i.e., Cyprian brass), 
go/d; symbol Au from Latin aurum, gold. 
helium, from ^Xios, the sun. 

hydrogen, from uSwp, water, and yev^s, producing. 
iodine, from twS^s, like a violet, from lov, violet. 
iridium, horn iris, the rainbow. 
lead; symbol Pb from Latin plumbum, lead. 
lithium, from Ai0os, stone. 

magnesium, from Magnesia, a district of ancient Thessaly. 
mercury, from Mercurius ; symbol Hg from Latin hydrargyrus, 

a kind of quicksilver. 
nitrogen, from nitrum, native soda. 

palladium, from Palladium — Greek IlaAAaSiov, a statue of Pallas, 
IlaAAds. 

phosphorus, from <£wo-<£d/3o?, light-bringing, from <$>&<;, light, and 
</>£/o«>, carry, bear. 

platinum, from plata, a thin plate of metal. 

silicon, from silex, a flint. 

silver; symbol Ag from Latin argentum, silver. 

sulphur, from sulphur, sulphur, brimstone. 

tin; symbol Sn from Latin stannum, tin. 

radium, from radius, ray. 

manganese, from magnes, magnet. 

Professor Bauer, the distinguished chemist of Vienna, once 
said: "Give me a student who has been taught his Latin 
grammar and I will answer for his chemistry." 

61 



BOTANICAL TERMS ARE LARGELY LATIN AND GREEK 

The Four Sets of Floral Organs Have Names of 
Latin Derivation 




a) the sepals (calyx, husk, shell), from sepalum, leaf. 

b) the petals (corolla, little crown), from petalum, petal. 

c) the stamens, from stamen, warp, thread. 

d) the carpels, from carpellum, fruit. 

The names of many of our common flowers are of classical 
origin, as: 

chrysanthemum, from xp v<7 ° <: > gold, and avOefiov, flower. 

cypress, from cupressus, cypress tree. 

dandelion, from dens, tooth, and leo, lion. 

geranium, Latin from yepdviov, from ye'pavos, crane. 

lily, from lilium, lily. 

nasturtium, from nasus, nose, and torquere, to twist. 

pansy, from pensare, to weigh, ponder. 

rhododendron, from poSoSevSpov, rose tree. 

rose, from rosa, rose. 

violet, from viola, violet. 

The meaning of such botanical processes as the following is 
clear from the derivation of the terms: 

desiccation, from desiccare, to dry up. 

germination, from germinare, to sprout. 

pollination, from pollen, dust. 

transpiration, from trans, across, through, and spirare, to 
breathe. 



62 



Note. — Paste the index pages of the school Botany with the terms from Greek 
and Latin underlined in red and green; or brightly colored pages from a seed catalogue 
with the scientific names given in connection with the flowers. 



VII 



LATIN CONTRIBUTES 



MORE OR LESS 



DIRECTLY 



TO SUCCESS IN THE 



PROFESSIONS 



LAW 



OPINIONS OF PROMINENT LAWYERS AS TO THE 
VALUE OF A CLASSICAL TRAINING FOR THE WORK 
OF THEIR PROFESSION 

"A lawyer must needs study uninteresting old statutes, dry and 
ancient blue books, stupid, antiquated ordinances, early black-letter 
precedents, to find out what the law is and what his client's rights are. 
Unless he can study alertly, patiently, and discriminately all these 
uninteresting, hard, and dry sources of the law and bases of rights, he 
will never reach the higher walk of his profession. Many men have 
natural aptitude for this. Many men have such superior ambition 
and industry that they will learn how to do this work when the neces- 
sity for it overtakes them. Of them we do not speak. But for the 
average youth who aims to become a lawyer there is great need that 
he be given special training in the interpretation of documents which 
are uninteresting, hard, and dry. He will have no end of it to do 
in his profession. He should conquer this preliminary difficulty 
before he enters upon his work. And while hard work for hard 
work's sake is a solecism, hard work in something worth while, for 
the strength and skill to be gained thereby, is the essence of all dis- 
ciplinary education. And this applies to the study of the classics 
by the would-be lawyer." — Merritt Starr, of the Chicago Bar. 
"Latin and Greek in American Education," by F. W. Kelsey, 
pp. 127-28. 

"In my opinion, everyone entering upon the profession of law 
should be a proficient Latin scholar." — John J. Healy, formerly 
state's attorney for Cook County, Illinois. Letter to author, January 
10, 1913. 

". . . . Preparation for the law should be made by the study 
of such subjects as will train a man to acquire easily and rapidly, 
and to think logically and independently. And, in my judgment, 
the subjects, the study of which tends to the development of these 
qualities, are those which require of the student strenuous, pains- 
taking, and persistent effort for their mastery. If I could regulate 
the preparation of law students, I would eliminate from the course 
all predigested and specially prepared foods, and I would give the 
young man something that would demand earnest effort on his part 

to assimilate I am frank to say that the young man who has 

a thorough old-fashioned classical and mathematical preparation for 
college is, in my judgment, much better fitted for the study of law 
than is the man who, during four years in college, has dissipated his 
64 



energy and weakened his power to think clearly and logically by 
desultory and pointless work in ' snap ' courses that require little or 
no' effort on his part. 

"For the prospective lawyer there can be no better discipline than 
that which comes from the discriminating effort involved in careful 
translation. The lawyer's professional life must largely be devoted 
to the interpretation of legal instruments; and the greater his skill 
in the use of language and in discovering shades of meaning, 
the greater his effectiveness." — H. B. Hutchins, president of the 
University of Michigan, "Latin and Greek in American Education," 
by F. W. Kelsey, pp. 143-44. 

See Appendix, p. 1 19, for a letter from George W. Wickersham, Attorney- 
General of the United States. 



65 



A VERY LARGE NUMBER OF LEGAL TERMS HAVE 
BEEN ADOPTED BODILY FROM THE LATIN 

non obstante verdicto notwithstanding the verdict 

pro tempore for the time being 

actio in personam personal action 

non assumpsit he did not undertake 

alibi presence elsewhere 

cum testamento annexo with the will annexed 

ipso facto by the fact itself 

ab initio from the beginning 

per curiam by the court 

amicus curiae friend of the. court 

per se by itself 

pro forma as a matter of form 

mala fides bad faith 

bona fides good faith 

mala prohibita prohibited by law 

mala in se wrong in itself 

lex loci contractus place of contract 

res gestae the subject-matter 

res judicata the matter has been decided 

narr or narratio the declaration in a cause 

lex scripta the written law 

lex non scripta the unwritten law 



66 



MANY WRITS, i.e., PAPERS IN WRITING ISSUED BY THE 
COURTS, DERIVE THEIR NAMES FROM THE LATIN, 
AND A KNOWLEDGE OF IT ENABLES ONE TO 
UNDERSTAND INSTANTLY THE PURPOSE OF THE 
WRIT 

The writ of capias: This is a writ issued to a sheriff, or other 
officer, commanding him that he take (ut capias) the body 
of a person and hold him subject to order of court. There 
are various kinds of capiases, e.g. : 

capias ad respondendum — a writ issued to take and bring 
the defendant before the court to answer. 

capias ad testificandum — a writ to bring a disobedient wit- 
ness before the court to testify. 

capias ad satisfaciendum — a writ issued after judgment to 
take and hold the party named therein for the satis- 
faction of the judgment rendered. 

writ of subpoena — a writ requiring a person to appear at a 
certain specified time and place, or pay a penalty 
(sub poena), or suffer punishment for default. 

subpoena duces tecum — a writ commanding a person to 
appear in court and bring with him (ut duces tecum, 
"that you bring with you") certain designated docu- 
ments or things. 

writ of fieri facias — or fi fa, as it is commonly called — 
a writ of execution commanding the sheriff to cause to 
be made of the goods and property of the defendant 
the amount of the judgment rendered against the 
defendant. 

retorno habendo — a writ issued in favor of a defendant com- 
manding the sheriff to cause the plaintiff to "make 
return" to the defendant of personal property which 
the plaintiff had wrongfully replevied from him. 



67 



Note. — Watch the newspapers for the many illustrations of the above as they are 
quoted in actual cases. Mount these to make clearer the connection with practica 



affairs. 



1 



I 



LATIN MAXIMS ARE NOT INFREQUENTLY QUOTED IN 
LAW COURTS 

Caveat emptor. 

Qui facit per alium, facit per se. 

In iure causa proxima, non remcta, spectanda est. 

Sic utere tuo ut alienum non laedas. 

Aequitas agit in personam. 

Cuius est solum eius est usque ad coelum. 

Lex non curat de minimis. 

Qui prior est in tempore potior est in iure. 

Qui sentit commcdum, sentire debet et onus. 

Ignorantia legis neminem excusat. 

OTHER EXAMPLES TRANSLATED INTO ENGLISH 

No one is bound to do that which is impossible. 

No one is obliged to accuse himself. 

He pays twice who pays promptly. 

The burden of proof is on the plaintiff. 

The lesser is included in the greater sum. 

The intention of the party is the soul of the instrument. 

An ambiguous answer is to be taken against the party who 
offers it. 



68 



MEDICINE 



MEDICINES AND REMEDIES IN GENERAL ARE APT 
TO HAVE NAMES COINED FROM LATIN OR GREEK 

The scientific or Latin designation of a drug is the same the 
world over, while the common name may vary, even in different 
sections of the same country. The medical student, well 
prepared in Greek and Latin, has an advantage over one who 
has not studied these languages. 



Druggists' labels from catalogue of drugs or from bottles 
on the shelves of the drug store 



These labels show you that the names of drugs are coined from Greek or 
Latin. 



SUCH NAMES AS THE FOLLOWING EXPLAIN TO THE CLASSICAL 
STUDENT THE CHARACTER OF THE MEDICINE : 

A stimulant, from Latin stimulo, to arouse or incite. 
A sedative, from Latin sedo, to quiet. 
A narcotic, from Greek va.pKWTiK.6s, benumbed. 
Morphine, from Greek Mopfavs, son of the god of sleep. 



"You cannot understand the language of medicine unless you 
know some Latin, so work hard at it: the time spent will never be 
regretted." — William Osier, Regius Professor of Medicine, Oxford 
University, Oxford, England. Letter to student, May 23, 1913. 



69 



Note. — It is interesting to notice that patent medicines and remedies often have 
classical names, e.g., Omega Oil, Cuticura Soap, etc. 



NOTICE THAT THE DISEASE WHICH MAKES YOU SICK 
HAS A LATIN OR GREEK NAME 

anaemia, from di/, without, and <u]u.a, blood — deficiency in the 

blood, bloodlessness. 
sclerosis, from ctkX^o's, hard — hardening. 
apoplexy, from airoirXricFauv, to cripple by a stroke — cnro, 

from, and TrXr/o-aeiv, to strike. 
Jnsanity, from insanitas, unsoundness. 
consumption, from consumo, waste or exhaust. 
inflammation, from inflammare, to set on fire. 
cholera, from cholera, a bilious complaint — x°^V, bile. 
tonsil itis, from tonsillae, tonsils, and iris, inflammation. 
bronchitis, from /3p°'yX 0S > windpipe, and ms, inflammation. 
meningitis, from /x^viyt, a membrane, and m?, inflammation. 
phthisis, from fydUiv, to pass or waste away. 
neuralgia, from vtvpov, nerve, and aAyos, pain. 
asthma, from aa6/xa, short-drawn breath. 
jaundice, from galbinus, yellowish. 
fever, from febris, fever. 

typhoid, from Tv<f>u>8r)<; (™<£os, cloud, stupor arising from fever). 
hydrophobia, from iJSwp, water, and <£o/3os, fear (a symptom of 
canine madness). 
diphtheria, from Si<£0epa, leather, a false membrane forming in 

the throat. 

"It not infrequently happens that an earnest medical student comes to 
me with the statement that he cannot find a certain word — "galactotoxis- 
mus," for instance — in his dictionary. If such a student had had a funda- 
mental training in Greek, he would not have needed to consult a dictionary 
in order to ascertain the meaning of this word. Besides, I am of the opinion 
that the best dictionary, frequently consulted, cannot give to "one wholly 
ignorant of Greek the correct, clear, and full appreciation of the meaning 
of such a word as "sitotoxismus" as comes unsought to the one versed in 

Greek " — Victor C. Vaughan, Dean of the Department of Medicine 

and Surgery, University of Michigan, "School Review," June, 1906, p. 392. 

"I have been asked to express my opinion regarding a knowledge of 
Latin and Greek by the medical man. My answer is that it has been a 
constant wonder to me how anyone can undertake the study of medicine 
without previously acquiring these languages, and that anybody should 
advise a student that he can get along without the key to a Latin and 
Greek terminology is to me astounding. For with a fair working knowledge 
of Latin and Greek the student of medicine has his pathway made much 
easier; his machinery is lubricated at every point, while without such help 
his life is a hard uphill climb." — James H. Jackson, M.D., Madison, Wis. 



70 



ENGINEERING 



OPINIONS OF MEN WHO ARE EMINENT IN THEIR 
PROFESSION AS TO THE VALUE OF A CLASSICAL 
TRAINING FOR THE WORK OF THE ENGINEER: 

"Education is not the learning of a trade or profession but is 

the development of the intellect and the broadening of the mind 

For ages the classics, comprising the study of the Latin and Greek 
languages and the literature of these languages, have been the founda- 
tion of all education, but in the last two generations they have been 
more and more pushed into the background by the development of 
empirical science, and its application, engineering. It is my opinion 
that this neglect of the classics is one of the most serious mistakes 
of modern education, and that the study of the classics is very impor- 
tant and valuable, and more so in the education of the engineer 
than in most other professions, for the reason that the vocation 
of an engineer is specially liable to make the man one-sided." — 
Charles F. Steinmetz, General Electrical Company, Schenectady, N.Y.j 
quoted from an article in "The American Institute of Electrical 
Engineers," XXVIII (1909), 1103 f. 

"The study of engineering demands definiteness and concise- 
ness of thought As a means of inculcating ideas of exactness, 

the study of Greek and Latin is 'facile princeps.'" — H. C. Sadler, 
Professor of Engineering, University of Michigan. 

"There is nothing in which engineers of today are so lacking as 
in the ability to express their thoughts; and there is nothing that 
will so surely give one such an ability as the translation from a foreign 
tongue; .... Nor can one properly understand English without 
an understanding of the Latin Grammar, I believe, though he should 
study it until he were gray. There are features of language which 
the study of English in itself does not bring out, and which cannot 
be brought out until one goes back to its parent tongue; and it is 
in these distinctions of meaning that the engineer must ultimately 

become versed Take such simple words as "affect" and 

"effect." I venture to say that 95 per cent of the students of the 
senior class of this University who have not had a classical training 
will fail to distinguish the difference between those two verbs; and 
yet the difference is quite essential, and it is especially essential to the 
engineer." — Gardner S. Williams, Professor of Engineering, Univer- 
sity of Michigan, quoted in F. W. Kelsey's "Latin and Greek in 
American Education," p. 116. 

71 



Note. — See "Classical Journal" for November, 1912, containing the opinion of 
Dean M. E. Cooley of the University of Michigan on the above question. 



THE MINISTRY 



THE MINISTER MUST BE FAMILIAR WITH BOTH THE 
LANGUAGE AND THE THOUGHT OF THE GREEKS 
AND ROMANS 

The New Testament was written in Greek and the writings 
of the early church were in Greek or Latin. Latin was the 
only ecclesiastical language during the middle ages, and it still 
remains the official tongue of the Catholic church. Moreover, 
the Christian religion arose in a world whose intellectual life 
was Greek and Roman. The minister who is familiar with the 
thought of those times has a great advantage over one who is 
not a classical scholar. 

OPINIONS OF EMINENT TEACHERS REGARDING THE NECESSITY 
OF A CLASSICAL TRAINING FOR MINISTERS: 

"The man who looks forward to the ministry ought to take 
the broadest and strongest college course which is possible. .... 
I believe that Latin and Greek ought to be studied by such men 
through the whole four years of their college course." — A. D. 
Mackenzie, President of Hartford Theological Seminary, in 
F. W. Kelsey's "Latin and Greek in American Education," 
p. 169. 

"Apart from the absurdity of a man's dealing in any pro- 
found way with a book whose language he is ignorant cf, it 
ought to be remembered that practically all learned commen- 
taries are unreadable to the man who does not know Hebrew and 
Greek Whatever place is given to other methods of train- 
ing for special work, Latin and Greek will remain as a necessary 
part of the equipment of the theological scholar." — Hugh 
Black, Professor at Union Theological Seminary, New York, 
in F. W. Kelsey's "Latin and Greek in American Education," 
pp. 184-S5. 



72 



Note. — Paste pages from the Greek and Latin testaments to aid realization of 
the above statements. Collect illustrations from Sunday-school lessons of features 
which a knowledge of classical life makes more intelligible. A list of hymns with 
Latin titles is also interesting. 



JOURNALISM 



OPINIONS OF LEADING JOURNALISTS REGARDING 
THE IMPORTANCE OF A CLASSICAL TRAINING 

A LETTER FROM MR. PAUL ELMER MORE, EDITOR OF " THE 
NATION," JANUARY 5, 1912: 

" Certainly .1 regard the ability to read Virgil and Homer as 
one of the most enduring luxuries a man can take from school 

into the world It has seemed to me in my editorial 

work that I have often observed the beneficial results of classical 
training in the orderliness of mind of contributors and the ill 
effects of its absence. I am more and more convinced every 
year that there is nothing that can take the place of the disci- 
pline of Latin and Greek." 



"In a recent address at Madison, Wis., Dr. Talcott Williams 
of the school of Journalism of Columbia University, emphasized 
the importance of the study of the ancient classics and uttered a 
warning against the neglect of these bulwarks of the old educa- 
tion." — "Wisconsin State Journal," May 13, 1912. 

M. Francis Maynard, editor of the Figaro, one of the leading 
papers of France, prepared himself for his brilliant editorials 
from day to day by reading the classics. " The most successful 
and competent French journalist of his time really thought 
that a constant perusal of the great classics was the best prepa- 
ration for his work in journalism. From them he drew his 
inspiration; they taught him to write; they were his com- 
panions day and night." — Mr. George W. Smalley, "Studies 
of Men," p. 361 (Harper and Bros., 1895). 

"A striking proof of what can be done by the scholar in journalism was 
given by the career — unhappily cut short by fever during the siege of 
Ladysmith — of Mr. G. W. Steevens, who went on the daily press after win- 
ning several high distinctions in classics at Oxford. In his accounts of the 
Diamond Jubilee procession, of the Dreyfus court-martial, .... he beat 
the descriptive reporter on his own ground, while he could deal adequately 
with literary and philosophical subjects which the mere reporter could not 
even approach. His skill in the craft of the special correspondent so im- 
pressed itself upon his contemporaries, that a London literary weekly, 
commenting on the lack of any notable descriptions of the coronation of the 
present King, remarked that 'the absence from among us of the late G. W. 
Steevens was severely felt.' " — Herbert W. Horwill, The Training of the 
Journalist, "Atlantic Monthly," January, 1911. 



73 



LETTERS FROM EDITORS OF LEADING AMERICAN 
NEWSPAPERS: 

"Your inquiry of March 5 can be answered, I think, in only one 
way by any person who has taken a college course. A knowledge of 
Greek and Latin, but especially of Latin, is emphatically of 'prac- 
tical' value to anyone who hopes to make a living by writing the 
English language. The 'Record-Herald' appreciates what you say 
about classical illustrations in its editorial columns. The real value 
of knowing Greek and Latin, however, is not in enabling one to 
make learned references but in the power it gives to use simple words 
with aptness and a nice appreciation of their shades of meaning. 
Any college man who has become a writer will tell you that in this 
respect he finds even his half forgotten scraps of Latin useful every 
day of his life. Training in Latin also is of permanent value as a 
help in understanding the grammar of our own language. Most 
of our everyday words come from the Anglo-Saxon; these are of 
the first importance, but we learn them in childhood. Most of our 
scholarly or technical words come from the Latin, and these can be 
learned best by becoming acquainted with the original roots. Both 
kinds are necessary. A person can make a living, of course, and even 
be quite happy, without knowing a word of Latin or Greek; but 
nothing can so surely give a full appreciation and mastery of our own 
beautiful language as a knowledge of the tongues from which it is 
derived." — Edwin L. Shuman, Literary Editor, "Chicago Record- 
Herald," March 17, 1913. Letter to a student. 

"I am very strongly myself for the humanities in education, and 
feel that my classical training was a very great advantage. But I 
know that good writers come up under other systems." — Rollo Ogden, 
Editor of the "New York Evening Post." Letter to student, March 
n, 1913. 



74 



Note. — The above letters will be more effective if posted in connection with 
the actual copies of the papers. 



BUSINESS 



THE BOY WHO HAS HAD A THOROUGH TRAINING IN 
LATIN, HAS A VERY GOOD EQUIPMENT FOR SUC- 
CESS IN THE BUSINESS WORLD 

A LETTER FROM DAVID B. FORGAN, PRESIDENT OF THE NATIONAL 
CITY BANK OF CHICAGO, ILL., JANUARY 3, 1913: 

"In reply to yours of the 6th instant I would say that I know of 
nothing more useful to a business man than to be master of his own 
mother tongue, and as Latin is the proper foundation for accurate 
knowledge of English, I am thoroughly in favor of the teaching of 
Latin to our high-school boys." 

Mr. Forgan thus expresses his idea of the kind of training 
that is really "practical" for success in the business world: 

"If a boy is to achieve great success he will need a well-trained 
mind. A mind trained to concentrated study, to careful analysis of 
the subject in hand, and to be content with nothing short of the com- 
plete mastery of it, is the best equipment for business life a young man 
can possess." — "Chicago Tribune," 1912. 

A LETTER FROM H. B. THAYER, PRESIDENT OF THE WESTERN 
ELECTRIC COMPANY, NEW YORK, MARCH 1 8, 1913: 

"In reply to yours of the 13th instant, it has always been my 
opinion that the chief value of education is not in what is left in the 
memory, but is in the training of the mind and that either in business 
or in the professions, a general training of the mind should precede 
specialization. The comparison between education and the plough- 
ing of a field is an old one but a good one. Education prepares the 
mind for the work of after life as the ploughing prepares the field. 
Different kinds of studies as mathematics, languages, and philosophy 
furnish different kinds of training. In my opinion they are equally 
valuable. Of what is left in the mind or memory the simple processes 
of mathematics are, of course, essential in all walks of life. In busi- 
ness or in the professions, on account of the large number of words 
in ordinary use derived from the Latin, such a knowledge of Latin 
as is retained is very valuable. In my opinion the study of Latin to 
the extent that it is carried on in a high school is of more practical 
benefit than many of the studies of the common schools." 

75 



THE INTELLIGENT BUSINESS MAN WILL ANTICIPATE 
THE TIME WHEN HE NO LONGER NEEDS TO MAKE 
MONEY. A LIBERAL EDUCATION IN HIS YOUTH 
WILL PREPARE HIM TO SPEND HIS LEISURE 
WITH PLEASURE AND PROFIT 

"The great and legitimate aim of a business man is to make 

money, to provide for himself and his family But when 

a man has reached the goal of his desires, when he has made his 
pile and desires to enjoy it, then comes the time for making the 
real and only balance sheet. Then he must ask himself, 
' What are my resources, now that I have everything that money 
can buy? What are my spiritual and intellectual assets?'" — 
James Loeb, formerly of Kuhn, Loeb & Co., New York, in 
F. W. Kelsey's "Latin and Greek in American Education," 
p. 217. 

"The young man looking forward to the happy life of an 
educated man, expecting to enjoy in his own home some of 
the fruits of his education, not merely to make money out of it, 
should be led to realize how common it is for business men, to 
say nothing of those in the professions, to regret that they cannot 
enjoy the best literature even in their own language." — Karl 
Pomeroy Harrington, "Live Issues in Classical Study," p. 16. 



One of the most unfortunate aspects of the tendency to 
start business too early is that it gives a boy no chance to 
develop tastes for fine things which will prove a source of 
relaxation and pleasure to him later. 



76 



THE TESTIMONY OF A SUCCESSFUL MAN OF AFFAIRS 
AS TO THE PRACTICAL HELP HE HAS DERIVED 
FROM HIS CLASSICAL EDUCATION 

A "Classical Foundation" as a "Practical Equip- 
ment for Life's Journey" may to the "practical" man sound 
too absurd even to laugh at. And yet so strenuously active 
and wide-awake and unvisionary a person as Mr. James 0. 
Fagan, railroad man, telegraph operator, traveler in two hemi- 
spheres, and "self-made" (as the saying goes) from boyhood, 
deliberately acknowledges his supreme indebtedness to classical 
study as the groundwork of his training for the work he was to 
find to do in the world. In the August instalment of his Auto- 
biography of an Individualist in the "Atlantic Monthly," 
dwelling on that part of his storm-and-stress period that was 
passed at East Deerfield, Massachusetts, he says: "In present- 
ing an argument, stating a case, or pleading a cause, other things 
being equal, I always attributed my intellectual advantage to 
the fact that in my youth I had received a thorough drilling in 
Latin and Greek, while my companions as a rule, in my line of 
life, had not. As a simple, practical equipment for life's journey, 
what may be called my classical foundation seems to me now to 
be worth all the other features of my school education put to- 
gether." — "The Dial," September, 1912. 



77 



THE STATESMAN 



IS IT NOT SIGNIFICANT THAT THE DESTINIES 
OF GREAT BRITAIN AND GERMANY HAVE 
BEEN GUIDED FOR CENTURIES, AND ARE 
GUIDED STILL BY MEN WHO OWE MUCH 
TO GREEK AND LATIN? 



Picture of the House of Lords from the Supplement 
to the "Illustrated London News," January 29, 1910 



British Lords who are practical men of affairs and at the same 
time classical men. 



Picture of the House of Parliament 



A very large percentage of the members of Parliament are 
graduates of Oxford or Cambridge, and almost their whole educa- 
tion is based on Greek and Latin. 



Government appointments in England and the Colo- 
nies are based on competitive examinations in which 
Greek and Latin play an important part. Men so chosen 
control the affairs of the British Empire. 



78 



Note. — -Make a list of prominent English, German, and French statesmen and men 
of affairs whose training has been classical to post in connection with the above. 
Gladstone and James Bryce are, of course, striking examples. "The Illustrated 
London News" and current magazines in general furnish abundant illustrative material. 



ARCHITECTURE 



THE BEST TRAINED ARCHITECTS KNOW THAT A 
KNOWLEDGE OF CLASSICAL BUILDING IS ESSEN- 
TIAL TO THEIR SUCCESS, AND WHILE THIS MAY 
BE GAINED WITHOUT GREEK OR LATIN, IT IS 
UNDOUBTEDLY TRUE THAT SUCH COLLEGE 
COURSES IN ART AND ARCHAEOLOGY AS A 
CLASSICAL STUDENT MUST PURSUE BROADEN 
AND DEEPEN THE KNOWLEDGE HE GAINS 
THROUGH ENGLISH SOURCES 

"There can be no question that a thorough knowledge of the 
architecture of the Greeks and the Romans is vital to every modern 
architect. We can hardly imagine any education in art or architec- 
ture worthy of the name that does not commence with a study of 
these ancient forms which are still unexcelled for dignity, purity, 
proportion, and refinement."— George B. Post and Sons, Architects, 
New York City. Letter to student, February 3, 1913. 

"In answer to your letter of May 13, we write to state that in 
our opinion the value of classical studies cannot be overestimated. 
The Committee on Education of the American Institute of Archi- 
tects is on record as recommending that the study of Latin be required 
as a preparation for the profession of architecture. The best archi- 
tectural schools in the country accept only holders of the degree of 
A.B. as candidates for entrance." — McKim, Mead and White, 
architects, New York. Letter to student, May 17, 1913. 



79 



THESE MODERN PUBLIC BUILDINGS HAVE STRIKING 
CLASSICAL FEATURES: 



New York City Post-Office — "Architectural 
Record," March, 1913 



The Museum at Berlin. 

The Madeleine at Paris. 

The Union Railway Station at Washington. 

The Capitol at Washington. 

The City Hall and Courthouse at Chicago. 

The Exchange at Brussels. 

Palace of Fine Arts at Geneva. 

Girard College at Philadelphia. 

The Pennsylvania Railway Station at New York. 

Courthouse at Indianapolis. 

The State Education Building at Albany, New York. 

The Northwestern Railway Station at Chicago. 



"It is upon the Roman practice that all subsequent European 
systems of decorative building have been founded, except the lightest 
and slightest — the wooden framed houses of mediaeval Europe and 
those of modern America and their like. Apart from fortifications 
and from structures built by engineers without artistic intention, 
there is not a single form of building in masonry since the 5th century 
which has not been developed from the practice of the imperial 
builders."— Russell Sturgis, "The Appreciation of Architecture," p. 55. 

80 
I 

Note. — Mount pictures of the above or of similar buildings, to be found in 
almost any city. 



THE WOMAN AT HOME 



IS A TRAINING IN GREEK AND LATIN "PRACTICAL" 
FOR THE GIRL WHO IS PREPARING FOR A LIFE 
IN THE HOME? 

Yes. It is even more important for her than for a boy, 
because competition in the business world is so keen in America 
that the average business man of today has almcst no time for 
reading outside the daily paper and a few magazines. It is the 
wife and mother, then, in the average well-to-do family, who has 
the leisure for looking after the literary training cf her children 
and the cultivation of their tastes for the finer things of life. 
For such duties she will need the most liberal education. And 
just as it would be a mistake for her to omit from her prepara- 
tion such practical matters as learning how to cook, sew, and 
the details of housekeeping generally, it would be a much greater 
mistake to neglect the preparation for meeting the higher needs 
of herself and her children. 



"If the study of Latin gave only training in the power of 
concentration, I should think it of great practical value for a 
woman. The distractions of modern life, the numberless 
demands upon the time and thought of the earnest woman, 
whether her life is lived within the home or outside of it, make 
this mental habit invaluable. 

"I might add that Latin is a 'practical subject' because of 
the help which it gives as preparation for other studies, such as 
French, Italian, English and History. It seems to me one of 
the 'basic' subjects, a good foundation for the education of 
any woman in whatever sphere her life may be lived. " — Mary 
E. Woolley, President of Mount Holyoke College. Letter to 
student, April n, 1913. 



81 



VIII 

LATIN ILLUMINATES 

TEXTBOOKS OF 

ROMAN HISTORY 

AND AFFORDS 

A DEEPER INSIGHT 

INTO THAT GREAT 

CIVILIZATION FROM 

WHICH OUR OWN 

HAS INHERITED SO 

LARGELY 



THE BEGINNINGS OF OUR MODERN CIVILIZATION 
GO BACK TO CLASSICAL TIMES 

"All the great intellectual impulses begin in Greece; the 
modern world only grows crops from the Greek seed. All the 
great political ideas come from Greece or Rome; the very 
notions of law and empire are theirs, and without them a mod- 
ern empire is only an organized horde, like Gengis Khan's, or 
an organized shop, a gigantic trust, greed, blocd, and iron. All 
poetry and philosophy has its roots there. Your very books 
and newspapers are full of allusions to Greece and Rome: cut 
them out and it would be like a world without the electric 
force." — Dr. W. H. D. Rouse, Cambridge University, England, 
in "Classical Weekly" for January n, 1913, IV, 82. 

"The History of Greece and Rome is the foundation of our 
modern culture in almost every direction. To understand our 
own life, our own ideas of state and law, of world and human 
tasks, of knowledge and art and philosophy, we must turn to 
those nations which influenced mcst strongly the whole further 
development of mankind." — Hugo Miinsterberg, Professor 
of Psychology at Harvard University, "Psychology and the 
Teacher," p. 294. 

"Notice first, then, that culture studies link man principally 
with the past; their roots strike deep into history. Rome 
attached the glorious heritage of centuries; Carthage, Syra- 
cuse, Athens, Thebes, Sparta, Alexandria, Jerusalem, were 
swallowed successively. Then she proceeded to annex the 
hopes of the future — Gaul, Spain, Germany, Britain. On these 
she stamped her language, her laws, her institutions, for a mil- 
lennium; thus we, their latest heirs, live bosomed in her still. 
Try as we may, we cannot rid ourselves of the long, triumphant 
list of emperors, popes, kings, jurists, philosophers, theologians, 
ecclesiastics, and saints who led mankind always within the 
framework of her civilization. Nay, in proportion as we 
attempt to shake her off, to free us from all knowledge of the 
tongue that preserves her unmatched achievement, we dedicate 
ourselves once more to a new barbarism, different in degree, 
mayhap, from that of our blue-clayed ancestors, but nowise 
different in kind." — R. M. Wenley, "The Nature of Culture 
Studies," quoted on p. 63 of F. W. Kelsey's "Latin and Greek 
in American Education." 



THE INFLUENCE OF ROMAN LAW IS STILL FELT IN 
THE MODERN WORLD 

ROMAN LAW IN EUROPE 
"The influence of the Roman law has been continued in modern 
times in Europe through the Code Napoleon which was based in 
part on the law of southern and eastern France which was Roman by- 
direct descent. Through this Code the Roman influence has been 
perpetuated in central and southern Europe generally, especially in 
Holland, Belgium, a part of Switzerland, in Italy, Spain and France." 
—Clifford Moore, Professor of Latin at Harvard University. Letter 
to student, January 10, 1913. 

ROMAN LAW IN AMERICA 

"Although the Romans held Britain from the first century to the 
beginning of the fifth, the Roman civilization was practically swept 
off the face of the earth by the coming of the Anglo-Saxon in 449 and 
afterward. There is therefore practically no Roman law in the 
present English law that has had a continuous existence on English 

soil from the time of the Roman occupation From the time 

of the Conquest, however, there have been frequent infusions of 
Roman law into English law through the influence of the lawmakers, 
the decisions of the courts and the writings of scholars, and this 
process is still going on both in England and America. In the early 
part of the last century, when hatred of England was so strong in 
this country, the American frequently borrowed from the French 
(modern Roman) law to aid them in their decisions. An interesting 
case of such borrowing from Roman or Romanic sources is found in 
Nebraska vs. Iowa, 143, U.S. 359, decided in February 1892. (See any 
large city library or law office.) .... The most important point 
of contact of the two systems for Americans is in our own Louisiana 
and in our island dependencies, Porto Rico and the Philippines. 
The laws of Mexico, of Central America and of all of the South Ameri- 
can states are direct derivatives of the classical Roman law. ^ Any 
trouble that we may have with these countries which would bring us 
into their courts would necessarily have to be settled in accordance 
with the rules of their modernized Roman law." — Joseph H. Drake, 
Professor of Roman Law, University of Michigan. Letter to student. 
January 5, 1913. : 

"The great service rendered by the Romans was the way in which 
they worked out a very complex and refined system of law which 
has been in many countries the base of legal development and legal 
practice ever since."— Hon. James Bryce, formerly British ambassa- 
dor to America. Letter to student, January 10, 1913. 

85 



CERTAIN FEATURES OF ROMAN RELIGION STILL 
SURVIVE IN A MORE OR LESS CHANGED FORM 

i. The plan of the Christian cathedral with the nave and 
side aisles is derived from the Roman basilica (the exchange and 
law courts in ancient Rome). 

2. Certain Christian festivals show traces of Roman influ- 
ence. For example, the ritual procession around the fields, 
called "beating the bounds," which survives in some parishes 
in England, is really a survival of the Roman festival of the 
Ambarvalia. The Carnival, also, a festival preceding Lent 
which is celebrated with much merry-making in some countries 
in Europe, has many points of contact with the Roman Satur- 
nalia. 

3. In some cases the early Christians, while changing the 
name and nature of a Roman festival that was popular with 
the masses, retained its date for a festival cf their own. This 
is illustrated by the fact that they selected the feast day of 
Aurelian's Sun god as the day for the celebration of the birth of 
Christ, who, as they pointed out, was the true sun of righteous- 
ness. 

4. Ceremonial processions, bearing many points of resem- 
blance to those that may still be seen in some cities in Europe, 
were a feature of some of the Roman religious cults as was the 
use of holy water and incense. 

5. The vestments worn in some churches of today are sug- 
gestive of Roman times; so, also, is the custom of making votive 
offerings and the wearing of amulets. 



Note. — This point may be illustrated at length. See especially Warde Fowler's 
"Roman Festivals." 



MANY FEATURES OF LIFE IN ITALY, SICILY, 
FRANCE, SPAIN, AND MEXICO ARE SURVIVALS 
FROM CLASSICAL TIMES 



An Italian kitchen 



A shop in Rome 



This Italian kitchen does not 
differ from one at Pompeii 



This Italian shop very closely 
resembles those of ancient Rome 



A street shrine in Italy 



A Spanish house 



This street shrine to the Virgin 
is like those erected in Rome 
to the Lares Compitales 



This house built about an 
open court has features closely 
resembling those of the Roman 
house 



Garden of Villa d'Este at 
Tivoli, Italy 



A Spanish bull ring 



This Renaissance garden with 
its fountains and villa reminds 
one of Roman days 



The shape of this bull ring is 
like that of the Roman amphi- 
theatre 



S7 



Note. — Mount pictures of the above or other pertinent matter. Any classical 
student who has traveled in these countries will have no difficulty in thinking of 
countless illustrations of this point. 



MISCELLANEOUS EXAMPLES IN THE MODERN WORLD 
OF INTERESTING SURVIVALS FROM CLASSICAL 
TIMES: 

THE SHAPE AND NAMES OF CERTAIN ENGLISH TOWNS 




Chester (L. castra, camp), in England, is still encircled by walls which 
follow those of the ancient Roman camp upon this site. 

OTHER EXAMPLES 

The shape of our theatre and amphitheatre. 

The circus and its procession. 

Our printed letters and our handwriting (see Frank Frost 
Abbott's "Common People of Ancient Rome," chapter entitled 
''Forms of the Letters of Our Alphabet, pp. 234 f.). 

Our calendar. 

The Olympic games: the stadium; such events as the 
Marathon race; athletic cups; trophies, etc.) see "Illustrated 
London News" for August, 191 2). 

Symbols for English money: £, pound, from Latin libra, 
pound; s, shilling, from Latin solidum; d, penny, from Latin 
denarius (see F. W. Kelsey's "Latin and Greek in American 
Education," p. 31). 



THESE PROBLEMS OF TODAY WERE LIVE QUESTIONS 
IN ROME: 




Copyright by John T. McCutcheon 

THE HIGH COST OF LIVING 



McCutcheon in the " Chicago Tribune," April 8, 1913. (See Abbott's "Common 
People of Ancient Rome," pp. 145 f., for a popular account of Diocletian's efforts in 
this connection.) 



Election of candidates by direct vote of the people 

Relation between business and politics 

Government control of public utilities 

Maintenance of the army and navy 

Graft in the business world 

Methods of taxation 

Corruption in politics 

The race problem 

The labor problem 

Capital punishment 

Foreign relations 

Lawlessness 

Suffrage 

Class privilege 

Eugenics 

Divorce 

Education 

Religion 

Immigration 



Guglielmo Ferrero, an Italian professor of Roman history, 
considers that ancient Rome and America of today have many 
points in common. In the "Atlantic" for July, 1910, he writes 
as follows: "Now I think that a journey to the New World is, 
above all, intellectually useful to a historian of the Ancient World, 
and that in order to understand the life and history of Greek or 
Roman society, it is quite as useful, if not more so, to visit the 
countries of America as to visit Asia Minor or North Africa." 



90 



Note. — Paste illustrations of the above from articles and cartoons in newspapers 
and magazines. A typewritten account of parallels from Latin literature will be 
effective in bringing out the similarity. For an illustration of this method see the 
treatment of the topic "suffrage" on the following page. 



WHEN YOU READ THESE SPEECHES CONCERNING 
SUFFRAGE FOR WOMEN, DELIVERED IN ROME IN 
THE SECOND AND FIRST CENTURIES B.C., YOU 
WILL ALMOST THINK YOU ARE READING THE 
MODERN NEWSPAPER 

A Speech Delivered in the Senate by Cato on the occasion 
of a vigorous protest on the part of Roman women to a law limiting 
expense in dress, when, as Livy, the Roman historian, says, the 
matrons could be kept at home neither by persuasion, nor by a sense 
of modesty, nor by the authority of their husbands. They blocked up 
all the streets of the city and the approaches to the Forum, impor- 
tuning men as they came down to the Forum to vote for the 
restoration of their rights. 

"Are your ways more winning in public than in private and with 
other women's husbands than your own ? And yet not even at home 
ought you to concern yourselves with the laws which are passed or 
repealed here. Our fathers have not wished women to manage even 
their private affairs without the direction of a guardian; they have 
wanted them to be under the control of their parents and their 
brothers and their husbands. We, by our present action, if the gods 
permit it, are letting them go into politics even; we are letting them 
appear in the Forum, and take a hand at public meetings and in the 

voting booths Pray, what will they not assail, if they carry 

this point ? Call to mind all the principles governing them by which 
your ancestors have held the presumption of women in check, and 
made them subject to their husbands. Though they have been re- 
strained by all these, still you can scarcely keep them in bounds. 
Tell me, if you let them seize privileges and wrest them from you one 
by one, and finally become your equals, do you think you can stand 
them ? As soon as they have begun to be your equals they will 
be your superiors."— Frank Frost Abbott, "Society and Politics in 
Ancient Rome," pp. 46-47. 

Note.— "Two of the tribunes had announced their intention to veto the 
repeal bill and in their final tactics the Roman women seem to have antici- 
pated political methods which are not unknown today. They beset the 
doors of these officials in a solid phalanx, and did not give over their demon- 
stration until the tribunes promised not to oppose them." 



91 



Speech Delivered in 43 b.c. by Hortensia, a Prominent 
Suffragist, when an edict was passed requiring fourteen hun- 
dred of the richest women to make a valuation of their prcperty 
and to contribute for the needs of a civil war such portion of it 
as would be required. 

"Let war with the Gauls or Parthians come and we shall 
not be inferior to our mothers in zeal for the common safety; 
but for civil wars may we never contribute, nor even assist you 

against one another Why should we pay taxes, when we 

have no part in the honors, the commands, the state-craft, for 
which you contend against one another with such harmful 
results?" — Frank Frost Abbott, "Society and Politics in 
Ancient Rome," pp. 49-50. 

Note. — "When Hortensia had thus spoken the triumvirs were angry 
that women should dare to hold a public meeting when men were silent 
.... and they ordered the lictors to drive them away from the tribunal, 
which they proceeded to do until cries were raised by the multitude outside, 
and the triumvirs said they would postpone till the next day the considera- 
tion of the matter." 



92 



THE POLITICAL CORRUPTION OF TODAY IS STRIK- 
INGLY LIKE THAT OF ROME IN THE CLOSING 
YEARS OF THE REPUBLIC 




Copyright by John T. McCutcheoii 

(McCutcheon in the "Chicago Tribune") 

SUSPENDED POLICE OFFICIALS OVER WHOM HANGS 
THE SWORD OF DAMOCLES 



93 



Note. — Post such articles as The Lorimer Case in Ancient Rome by Guglielmo 
Ferrero in "Hearst's Magazine" for September, 1912, and the many illustrations of the 
point to be found in any American newspaper. The Cicero text read in high school 
affords abundant material for an effective' comparison with modern conditions. 



IT IS INTERESTING TO NOTE THE SIMILARITY 
BETWEEN CERTAIN FEATURES OF ROMAN AND 
AMERICAN METHODS OF ELECTIONEERING 

I. The honest candidate made every legitimate effort to 
win the favor of voters just as the honest modern candidate 
does, while the unscrupulous one attained his end in much 
the same fashion as does the corrupt politician cf tcday. 

II. Our political posters are not different in spirit frcm those 
found at Pompeii and are often similar in expression. 
Compare, for example, the following posters: 



P-FVR-II-V-V-B-O-V-F 


Publium Furium 


duumvirum, 


virum bonum, oro vos, facite. 


"Make Publius 


Furius duum- 


vir, / beg of you 


• he's a good 


man." 





ROOSEVELT-JOHNSON 

Will you help elect them ? 



Found at Pompeii (ist century 

A.D.). 



Used in 
(1912). 



our recent campaign 



Such statements as these, easily paralleled tcday, were 

often expressed about the candidate: 
dignum re publica, worthy of public office. 
iuvenem probum, an upright young man. 
hie aerarium conservabit, he will be the watchdog of the 

treasury. 
et ille te faciet, (elect him) and he will do as much for you. 

III. Our campaign speeches are strikingly similar in spirit to 
those of Cicero and Catiline. A Roman politician, for 
example, would be quite at home in reading some of the 
speeches of the recent campaign in which personal invective 
was a conspicuous feature. In this connection see news- 
papers and magazines for summer of 191 2 ; also an arraign- 
ment of Hearst by Secretary Root in the "Chicago 
Tribune" for November 2, 1906. 
94 

Note. — See chapter on Municipal Politics in Pompeii, in Abbott's "Society and' 
Politics in Ancient Rome"; also F. W. Kelsey's "Pompeii." 



HUMAN NATURE HAS NOT CHANGED SINCE THE 
TIME OF THE ROMANS; THIS ANCIENT AND 
THIS MODERN POLITICIAN WOULD HAVE NO 
DIFFICULTY IN UNDERSTANDING EACH OTHER 



Senator La Follette point- 
ing out his services to Wis- 
consin in bringing about 
certain reforms. (McCut- 
cheon in the "Chicago 
Tribune," December 29, 
1911.) 




Copyright by John T. A/clutch 



cieCROS ^TRONflEfT CHRo 




The consul Cicero pointing out his services to 
Rome in freeing it from the conspiracy of Catiline. 



95 



Note.— See the Letters of Theodorus by S. Maurice Low in "Harper's Weekly," 
May 25, I9i2,f or a humorous comparison between Cicero and Roosevelt. 



THE MODERN WORLD MAY PROFIT MUCH BY THE 
EXPERIENCE OF THE ROMANS; IT CANNOT 
AFFORD TO DISREGARD THE LESSONS THEY 
LEARNED 

"A sober reflection on the history of the ancient republics 
might put us on our guard against many of the dangers to which 
we ourselves are exposed." — Irving Babbitt, "Literature and 
the American College," p. 171. 

"Moreover, I believe that the deeper one has delved into 
the past, and particularly the past as represented by Greece and 
Rome, the keener will be his interest in the coming lot of his 
fellow-men.- .... The Greeks faced many of our problems and 
have much to tell our own generation as it stands before the door 
of tomorrow." — Fred B. R. Hellems, "The Dial," March 1, 
1913, pp. 176-78. 

"They [the classics] contain a body of human experience and 
tried wisdom by which we may still guide our steps as we stumble 

upon the dark ways of this earth For, frankly, if a man 

is not convinced that the classics contain a treasure of practical 
and moral wisdom which is imperatively needed as a supple- 
ment to the one-sided theories of the present day, and as a 
corrective of much that is distorted in our views, he had better 
take up some other subject to teach than Greek or Latin." — 
Paul Elmer More, The Paradox of Oxford, "School Review," 
June, 1913. 



96 



Note. — -Work out some concrete illustrations from Roman life of experiments and 
ways of thinking from which the modern world might well profit. 



THESE ROMANS WHOM WE READ ABOUT IN HIGH- 
SCHOOL LATIN HAVE MESSAGES FOR THE MOD- 
ERN WORLD. WHY NOT MAKE USE OF THEIR 
EXPERIENCE AND SO AVOID MAKING THE SAME 
MISTAKES ? 

caesar's message 
The secret of success is to see clearly what you want and then 
to stick to it until you get it 'no matter how much hard work it 
takes. A man ought to be careful, too, about deciding what he 
"wants." I wasted some time myself in looking around, but I 
finally decided that there was more real satisfaction in reforming 
the Roman State than in anything else, so I tried to get the reins 
into my own hands. America needs a strong executive just 
as much as did the Rome of my day. 

CICERO'S MESSAGE 

Love of money and power destroyed the Roman Republic. 
You Americans are in danger of the same disaster. 

virgil's message 
There's nothing any more worth while for any man than to 
be willing to sacrifice his own private happiness for the sake of 
the common good. We Romans made a mistake in forgetting 
this. We also forgot that such qualities as courage, honesty, 
respect for authority, loyalty to family and friends, and rever- 
ence for religion were the foundations of character and that no 
state could flourish very long without them. 



97 



WIDE READING IN THE CLASSICS GIVES A PERSPEC- 
TIVE FOR A CORRECT JUDGMENT OF THE PRES- 
ENT. MANY PEOPLE THINK THAT THIS IS THE 
MOST "PRACTICAL" FEATURE OF A CLASSICAL 
TRAINING 

"Without a knowledge of the thought of Greece and Rome, 
you cannot estimate the thought of your own or any other 
generation, because you do not know how to distinguish its 
peculiar quality from the common inheritance." — Paul Shorey, 
The Case for the Classics, "School Review," November, 1910, 
p. 612. 

"The average American has come to have an instinctive 
belief that each decade is a gain over the last decade, and that 
each century is an improvement over its predecessor; the first 
step he has to learn in the path of culture is to realize that the 
advance in civilization cannot be measured by the increase 
in the number of eighteen story buildings. The emancipation 
from the servitude to the present may be reckoned as one of the 
chief benefits to be derived from classical study." — Irving 
Babbitt, "Literature and the American College," p. 165. 



" A man who does not understand Latin is like one who walks 
through a beautiful region in a fog; his horizon is very close 
to him. He sees only the nearest things clearly, and a few steps 
away from him the outlines of everything become indistinct or 
wholly lost. But the horizon of the Latin scholar extends far 
and wide through the centuries of modern history, the Middle 
Ages and antiquity." — Schopenhauer. 



Note. — See Zielinski, "Our Debt to Antiquity," pp. 165-66. 



TO WHAT EXTENT IS THE KNOWLEDGE OF THIS PAST 
CIVILIZATION DEPENDENT UPON THE STUDY OF 
LATIN? CAN IT NOT BE OBTAINED WITHOUT IT? 

The knowledge of this ancient civilization while not depend- 
ent upon the study of Latin, is undoubtedly more lasting and 
more significant to the man of classical training who has read 
the original sources as well as the English. For any intimate 
acquaintance with the thought and the life of the people, any 
thorough appreciation of the influence of Greece and Rome, 
requires a considerable period of time for the leisurely absorp- 
tion of the details and such close association with them as the 
effort of translation throughout the years of high school and 
college entail. Very few people in America today are willing 
to pay the price in time and effort for such an intellectual and 
spiritual possession. In no other way, however, can the full 
significance of Greece and Rome be realized. And even though 
one cannot go far enough to assure himself of an ability to read 
the originals with ease, or even though he may have lost the 
power he once had, the fact that he is able to read the English 
translations with intelligence and feeling, brings him an income 
of pleasure and profit much greater than that of the man who 
has never made the acquaintance of the original. 



99 



THE ACCOUNT OF THIS ANCIENT WORLD GIVEN IN 
ROMAN HISTORIES IS MUCH MORE VIVID TO ONE 
WHO READS THEIR PAGES WITH A BACKGROUND 
OF CLASSICAL STUDY 




HANNIBAL 



As he appears to one who has 
read about him in English sources 
only 



As he appears to the college man 
who has read the Latin account in 
Livy as well as the English sources 



Note. — Caesar, Cicero, and many other characters prominent in high-school 
Latin, may be used as examples of the above point. This illustration will be more 
effective if the class has been trained to watch for the many sidelights on human nature 
in connection with the reading of the Latin text. 



IX 



OTHER WAYS IN 



WHICH THE STUDY 



OF LATIN 



MAKES THE WORLD 



ABOUT US MORE 



INTERESTING 



ABILITY TO READ LATIN INSCRIPTIONS WILL ADD 
MUCH TO THE PLEASURE OF THE INTELLIGENT 
TRAVELER 




Such inscriptions as the above are very common in Europe 
EXAMPLES OF INSCRIPTIONS WHICH TRAVELERS FIND: 

On the Tomb of Pope Leo XIII at Rome: 

Ecclesia ingemuit, complorante urbe universa. 

"The church mourned, while all the city lamented." 
On the monument in Switzerland called the "Lion of Lucerne": 

Helvetiorum fidei ac virtuti. 

"To the loyalty and bravery of the Helvetians." 
On a sun dial in an old garden in Europe: 

Horas non numero nisi serenas. 

"I number only sunny hours." 
On a bronze tablet in Oxford College, England, set up in 

memory of the men killed in the South African war: 

Dulce et decorum est pro patria mori. 

"It is sweet and fitting to die for one's country." 
Over a door in Dantzic, Germany: 

Hospes, se tibi pulsanti ianua pandit. 

"Guest, the door opens at your knock." 
On a French tomb: 

Fortuna, infortuna, forti una. 

"Good fortune or bad fortune, one and the same thing to a 

brave man." 



Note. — The new post-office in New York has this inscription taken from the 
Greek of Herodotus 8. 98: "Neither snow, nor rain, nor heat, nor night stays these 
couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds." 



THESE SEALS ARE MORE INTERESTING TO ONE WHO 


CAN READ LATIN: 




UNITED STATES 


COLORADO 


E pluribus unum 


Nil sine numine 


"One composed of many" 


"Nothing without God" 


NEW YORK 


MAINE 


Excelsior 


Dirigo 


"Higher" 


"I direct" 


ARKANSAS 


KANSAS 


Regnant populi 


Ad astra per aspera 


"The people rule" 


"To the stars through diffi- 




culties" 


VIRGINIA 


DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA 


Sic semper tyrannis 


Justitia omnibus 


"Ever thus to tyrants" 


"Justice for all" 


WEST VIRGINIA 


IDAHO 


Montani semper liberi 


Esto perpetua 


"Mountaineers are always 


"Let her endure forever" 


freemen" 




CONNECTICUT 


NORTH CAROLINA 


Qui transtulit, sustinet 


Esse quam videri 


"He who transplanted, sus- 


" To be rather than to seem " 


tains" 






103 



Note. — -In the same way, make a collection of university seals, coats-of-arms, 
mottoes for well-known societies, etc. 



MANY OBJECTS IN NATURE SUCH AS FLOWERS, 
TREES, ANIMALS, THE STARS, ETC., HAVE INTER- 
ESTING STORIES FROM THE GREEK CONNECTED 
WITH THEM 

FLOWERS 




The Hyacinth 
(story) 



The Violet 
(story) 



TREES 




The Laurel 
(story) 



The Pine 

(story) 



STARS 




Orion 
(story) 



The Great Bear 

(story) 



Leo 

(story) 



104 



Note. — For these stories see Myths and Legends of Flowers, Trees, Fruits, and 
Plants by Charles M. Skinner, or any text on classical mythology. The accounts in 
typewritten form should be pasted below the pictures. Students can co-operate very 
largely by preparing the paintings and drawings. 



IT IS A MISFORTUNE NOT TO BE ABLE TO READ 
THE MANY LATIN MAXIMS AND QUOTATIONS 
FAMILIAR TO EDUCATED MEN 

" 'Yankee supremacy,' Calderon admits, 'had been excellent, but 
an irresponsible supremacy is perilous. Quis custodiet custodem?» 

he asks." "Who will guard the guardian?" ("Chicago Tribune"). 



"I find myself, in short, an old-fashioned person, not quickly 
adaptable to the times in which I live; and though I have been so 
duly chastened by my juniors as only rarely and in secret to reveal 
myself as a laudator temporis acti, still it is difficult or impossible 
for me to reach the flying goal of being up-to-date." "A praiser of 
times past" ("Atlantic," March, 1913). 



"Yet nil admirari as Horace says; but I forgot for the moment 
that one of the habits I have been trying to unlearn is that of extem- 
poraneous and unverified quotation, especially from the Bible or 
from the classics, which I find in particularly bad form at present." 
"To be astonished at nothing" ("Atlantic," March, 1913). 



"Harsh things will be said of such of them as are not already dead 
and therefore immune under the rule de mortuis nil nisi bonum. 

We ought rather to be glad that they have helped us to meet a blue 
Monday with a smile." "Say nothing of the dead save what is good" 
("Chicago Tribune"). 

OTHER EXAMPLES 

Timeo Danaos et dona ferentes: "I fear the Greeks even 

when bearing gifts." 

Carpe diem: "Seize the present opportunity." 

Noli me tangere: "Don't touch me. " 

Odi profanum vulgus: "I hate the common crowd." 

Herculem ex pede : " From his foot, one can judge a Hercules." 

De gustibus non est disputandum: "One should not dispute 

about tastes." 

Caveat emptor: "Let the purchaser beware." 

Audaces fortuna iuvat: "Fortune helps the bold." 

Festina lente: "Make haste slowly." 

Nil mortalibus ardui est: "Nothing is hard for men." 

Tot homines quot sententiae: "So many men, so many 

opinions." 

105 



SUCH SHORT LATIN PHRASES AS THESE ARE IN DAILY 


USE: 




magnum bonum . . 


. . a great good 


prima facie 


. . at first sight 


modus operandi . . 


. . method of working 


bona fide 


. . .in good faith 


obiter dictum .... 


. . .a thing said by the wav 


sub rosa 


. . .under the rose, privately 


inter nos 


. . . between ourselves 


ad nauseam 


. . .to disgust or satietv 


ad unguem 


. . .to the nail, exactly 


alter ego 


. . . another self 


in medias res .... 


. . .into the midst of things 


brutum fulmen . . . 


. . . a harmless thunderbolt 


casus belli 


. . . that which causes war 


crux 


. . . a cross, puzzle, or difficulty 


cui bono? .... 


. to what end? 


cum grano salis . . . 


. . . with a grain of salt 


Dei gratia 


. . . bv the grace of God 


Deo volente 


. . . God willing 


disiecta membra. . 


. . . scattered remains 


ex cathedra 


. .from the chair or seat of authority — an 




authoritative utterance 


facile princeps .... 


. .easily pre-eminent, indisputably the first 


horribile dictu . . . 


. .horrible to say 


mirabile dictu .... 


. .wonderful to sav 


in situ 


. . in its original situation 


in toto 


. . in whole, entirely 


ipse dixit 


. .he himself said it, a dogmatic assertion 


ante bellum 


. . before the war 


post mortem 


. . after death 


sic passim 


. .so everywhere 


viva voce 


. . orally 


sine die 


. .without a day being appointed 


vox populi 


the voice of the people 


1 06 





LATIN PLAYS A VERY IMPORTANT PART IN THE 
CATHOLIC CHURCH OF TODAY 

There are more than 300,000,000 people in the Catholic 
church, all of whom sing hymns in Latin, listen to a Latin ritual, 
and use Latin prayers. There are 500,000 priests whose use of 
Latin in the ritual averages two hours a day. Many of these 
speak Latin. Moreover, since Latin is the official language of the 
church, all formal documents, correspondence, and edicts are 
written in this language. It was not an unusual thing under 
the late pope, Leo XIII, to see one of his Latin letters in our 
newspapers. Here are some verses from a very famous Latin 
hymn: 



DIES IRAE 

Dies irae, dies ilia! 
Solvet saeclum in favilla, 
Teste David cum Sybilla. 

Quantus tremor est futurus, 
Quando iudex est venturus, 
Cuncta stricte discussurus! 

Tuba mirum spargens sonum 
Per sepulcra regionum, 
Coget omnes ante thronum. 

Mors stupebit, et natura, 
Quum resurget creatura 
Iudicanti responsura. 

Liber scriptus proferetur, 
In quo totum continetur, 
Unde mundus iudicetur. 

Iudex ergo cum sedebit, 
Quidquid latet, apparebit, 
Nil inultum remanebit. 

Quid sum miser tunc dicturus, 
Quem patronum rogaturus, 
Cum vix iustus sit securus ? 

Rex tremendae maiestatis, 
Qui salvandos salvas gratis, 
Salva me, fons pietatis! 



Recordare, Iesu pie, 
Quod sum causa tuae viae; 
Ne me perdas ilia die! 

Iuste iudex ultionis, 
Donum fac remissionis 
Ante diem rationis! 

Ingemisco tanquam reus, . 
Culpa rubet vultus meus: 
Supplicanti parce, Deus! 

Qui Mariam absolvisti, 
Et latronem exaudisti, 
Mihi quoque spem dedisti. 

Preces meae non sunt dignae, 
Sed tu bonus fac benigne 
Ne perenni cremer igne ! 

Inter oves locum praesta, 
Et ab haedis me sequestra, 
Statuens in parte dextra. 

Confutatis maledictis, 
Flammis acribus addictis, 
Voca me cum benedictis! 

Oro supplex et acclinis, 
Cor contritum quasi cinis, 
Gere curam mei finis! 

— Tommaso di Celano, d. 1255 



107 



Note. — Any person familiar with the ritual of the Catholic church will at once 
think of many concrete illustrations of this point. 



THESE STRIKING ADVERTISEMENTS ARE BASED 
ON THE MYTHS OF GREECE AND ROME; THE 
BUSINESS WORLD ASSUMES THAT EVERYONE 
KNOWS THESE STORIES: 

# CHICAG- 




Mercury, the messenger of the gods, famed for the swiftness of his flight 



1 08 



Note. — See also the advertisements of the Commonwealth Edison Electric Light 
Company, Chicago; O'Sullivan's Heels; the Goodyear Tires, etc. 




" The standard by which all other makes are measured" 

THE ATLAS E2BILAN2 CEMENT CO. 

30 BROAD ST., NEW YORK 
Morris Bld^ Philadelphia. Pa Corn Exch Bank Bld^ Chicago III 



III 



Tflf white -&\ 

ATLAS 

fejiSBf S 



Architectural Record, March 1913 
Atlas, the Greek hero who held the world upon his shoulders 





MAKES FOUR SLICES OF TOAST 
IN TWO MINUTES. 

Can be used on any 

GAS RANGE or HOT PLATE 

Vulcan, the smith of the gods, who was always associated with fire 



OTHER 

Atlas Trunk Co. 
Janus Vacuum Bottle 
Hercules Stump Puller 

Invisible Hooks 
Cement Stone 
Machine 

Ajax Tires 
Ajax Motor 
Apollo Piano 
Vulcan Wax Melter 
Diana Lead Pencils 
Diana Stuft Confection 



EXAMPLES 

Vesta Matches 

Nectar Tea 

Midas Metal Polisher 

Phoenix Fire Insurance Co. 

Venus Lead Pencil 

Venus Sandal 

Kellogg's Toasted Corn Flakes, 

"If Venus had arms" 
Athena Underwear 
Athena National Biscuit Co. 
Dryad Cane Furniture 
Prometheus Plate Warmer 



109 



YOU CANNOT SEE THE POINT OF THESE CARTOONS 
WITHOUT A KNOWLEDGE OF CLASSICAL MYTH- 
OLOGY 



if WOODRdW 
WltSON 




Donahey, in "Cleveland Plain Dealer" 



k4 







Turkey in Wonderland 

Turkey (observing Phoenix rising from its ashes) — "That's a trick every bird ought to 

know. Wonder if I'm too old to learn it?" 

— "Punch" (London). 



Note. — Make a collection of the many humorous pictures bearing on classical 
matters to be found in current magazines and newspapers. 



THE CLASSICAL MAN WITH A SENSE OF HUMOR HAS 
A KEEN ENJOYMENT IN SUCH POEMS AS THE 
FOLLOWING: 

THE LINKS OF ANCIENT ROME* 

By Payson Sibley Wild and Beet Leston Taylor 



AUGUSTUS FIT CUPIDUS 
SCIENDI 

(C II K) 
"Nuper, Octavi, dixisti iturum 
Te mecum olim et campos visurum 
Ubi libentes iam ludimus ilia 
Altivolante, durissima pila. 
Die mihi, vetule, saltern spectare 
Nonne nunc vis, si nondum ten- 
tare?" 

Frustra cum Imperatore locutus, 
Impedimenta ac fustes indutus, 
Abii atque quaesivi amicos 
Qui iam profecti ad agros apricos. 
Sed vis discesseram fessus orando, 
Cum Caesar, fessus et ipse negando, 
Talia reddit adstantibus fando: 

" Bella, Rapinae, Incendia, Caedes, 
Carmina, Litterae, Templa et Aedes, 
Quae sunt res publicae, graves et 

durae, 
Illis furentibus nihil sunt curae; 

Immo pol VINUM, MULIERES, 
CANTUM, 

Non tantum diligunt, antea quan- 
tum! 
Namque novicius lusus dam- 

NABILIS 

Nescio quis, et, ut dicunt, mirabilis 
Fascinavisse videtur sodales 
Quondam carissimos contubernales. 
Earn rem omnem non facio flocci; 
Sum studiosior comici socci, 
Amo picturas moventes vel PON- 

TEM, 



AUGUSTUS BECOMES C2K 

MAECENAS: 

"Octavius, I've often heard you say 
That you'd cut out the work some 

sunny day, 
And have a look at our new country 

club. 
Why not this aft, old top ? Put on 

a sub; 
Come down and watch us shoot a 

round of golf, 
Whether you stay to play or stay to 

scoff." 

"Nix on that golf stuff," said the 
Emperor, 

And so to prod him further I fore- 
bore. 

Grabbing my clubs I chucked them 
in my car, 

And made the two miles to the links 
in par; 

While Caesar, peeved at having 
stood me off, 

Let go the following remarks on golf : 

AUGUSTUS : 
"War, glory, statecraft, and the 

Muses Nine 
No longer charm these golf-mad 

friends of mine; 
Wine, skirts, and song have also lost 

their hold 
Beside this strange new game that, 

I am told, 
By old and young and wise and 

foolish played is — 
For which I would not give a hoot in 

Hades. 
Me for the play or moving picture 

show. 



*From the Diary of Maecenas, according to the testimony of the authors, a 
fragment which seems to prove that the game of golf had its origin in the reign of 
Augustus. 



Cupidus nunquam per vallem aut 

montem 
Pilulam at.bam sequendi in fontem! 

"At cantilenam eandem cur cano; 
Nura decet ipsi mentiri tyranno ? 
Hue automovens vehiculum ferte! 
Quid-iNEL agant comperiam certe." 



A hand at bridge or any game 
with go; 

But chasing white pills round a 
vacant lot 

Is my idea of entertainment, not. 

" But here I am, singing the same old 
tune. 

I've really not much on this after- 
noon, 

And can, as old Maecenas said, 
knock off 

And watch him shoot a hole or two 
at golf. 

My motorcycle, boy ! I'd like to see 

Just wotinel this d. f. game may be." 



II 

AUGUSTUS UTITUR LINGUA 

VULGARI SED LUDUM 

DISCIT 

Pilam expuleram aggere primo, 
Cum Imperator iam illitus limo, 
Clamans "Quid! Istoc est totum?" 

apparet, 
Atque observat dum pila volaret 
Pedes per caelum ad terram ses- 

centos. 
"En," inquit, "sane homunculos 

lentos, 
Qui quot diebus exercent iam du- 

dum 
Effeminatum eiusmodi ludum! 

"Quam putris ictus hie proximus 

erat! 
Talis ut aegre peritus pol ferat; 
Tu imbecillus es, hercle, Maecenas; 
Quid fluit tibimet, quaeso, per 

venas ? 
'Atavis edite regibus' — quippe; 
Hoc enim luderet ludo Xantippe! 
Si non potuero longius sphaeram 
Quam tu impellere, causam turn 

quaeram. 
Clavam da mihi; ostendam, sceleste, 



II 

AUGUSTUS INDULGES IN 

STRONG LANGUAGE, BUT 

DECIDES TO LEARN 

THE GAME 

I whaled the ball two hundred yards 

or more — 
A screamer — when up wheeled the 

Emperor, 
Exclaiming, as he watched the 

sphere sail off, 
"Ye gods! Is that the total sum of 

golf! 
Weaklings and mollycoddles, what 

a shame 
To waste your time on such a baby 

game! 
"And you, Maecenas,' Son of An- 
cient Kings' 
(As Flaccus boy satirically sings 
In his last book, 'A Line-o'-Verse 

or Two'), 
Is that the best, old scout, that you 

can do ? 
A stroke most ladylike! Why, on 

my soul, 
I'd back Xantippe for a ball a hole! 

"Say, if I couldn't slam that piffling 
pill 



Ego ut faciam. Omnes adeste!" 

Ita locutus, tenac'iter prendit 
Clavem et statim ad aggerem tendit. 
Spuens confestim in mediam manum 
Pectore scelus anhelans profanum, 
Agitat baculum sat negligenter; 
S-s-s-t! ferit sphaeram (ut putat) 

valenter. 
At tamen haece immobilis iacet, 
Atque Augustus attonitus tacet. 
Puer cachinnat, qui saccum ferebat, 
Temporis tamen momento silebat, 
Nam ululatum iam Princeps tolle- 

bat: 
"Stulte damnate, ad usque 

AVERNAM 

volo tu eas gehennam infern- 
am!" 

Turn ridens "Oculos," inquam, 

"attollis; 
Pilula ilia est, minime follis." 

"Istud pro di immortales excide! 
Si placet, eris dum mortuus, ride! 
Heus, vespertilio, caece, ausculta: 
Quae tibi faciam ea sunt multa. 
Ego et tu exercebimus soli — 
Pilam amittere edepol noli!" 

Nos modo caudas gallorum mar- 
tini, 
Modo lagenas arcessimus, vini. 



— By courtesy of 

the "Chicago Tribune" and 



Over the crest of yonder fir-clad hill 
I'd go jump in the Tiber. Here, I 

say, 
Give me that mallet! Caddy, stand 

away!" 

Preluding thus, the Top Card took 

his stance, 
Giving the "pill" a quick, contemp- 
tuous glance, 
Then swung the driver with terrific 

force, 
And — missed the ball a foot or two, 

of course. 
A caddy snickered, then discreetly 

blew, 
And Caesar after him the driver 

threw, 
With certain objurgations, warm 

and tinglish, 
That look less rude in Latin than 

in English. 

I laughed and said, "You see, it 

takes some skill: 
You didn't keep your eye upon the 

pill. 
The striking surface, you'll observe, 

is small; 
It's not, Octavius, a soccer ball." 

"Aw, cut that out, for love of 

Mike!" said he. . 
"Laugh if you will — I grant it's one 

on me. 
Son of a bat! " — he called the nearest 

caddy — ■ 
"We'll learn this game alone. Come 

on, my laddie; 
And if you lose this new ball in the 

rough 
What I will do to you will be 

enough!" 

So off they went, while we the club 

bar found, 
And ordered dry martinis all around. 

the "Brothers of the Book." 



113 



ANSWERS TO SOME COMMON OBJECTIONS TO THE 
STUDY OF LATIN 

i. "It's too hard" 

Perhaps it's not so hard as you think. Perhaps you are 
lazy and do not like to do anything that does not immediately 
interest you and so calls for an effort of your will. Anyone 
who has had much experience in life will tell you that very few 
things that are really worth while come easily. Do you know 
Herbert Spencer's famous definition of education: "to accus- 
tom myself to do the thing I know I ought to do at the time 
when I ought to do it, whether I feel like doing it or not" ? 

2. "It takes too much time" 

This depends upon how much you think it is worth and the 
price in time and labor that you are therefore willing to pay. If 
you believe in it, you will not grumble at spending a fair amount 
of time upon it. If you are putting an exorbitant amount upon 
it, it is likely that you are not well prepared for it and ought to go 
back, or that you have not really learned how to concentrate 
your mind when you are studying. 

3. "You forget it all, anyway" 

This really is not an argument against Latin, unless you 
believe that education is solely a matter of learning facts which 
may be used in after life. Whether you remember the facts 
you learn in high school or college, does not really matter. 
Very few men and women in middle life could pass an examina- 
tion on the facts of physics, chemistry or mathematics which 
they studied in school. (Ask the teachers on your faculty how 
much they remember about the actual facts of work in other 
departments.) But they may be none the less "educated" 
people because, while they were receiving "information," they 
were really going through a process of "formation," e.g., their 
faculties were being so trained that they can not only acquire 
knowledge when necessary, but make the most intelligent use 
of their powers in the various situations of life. 
116 



4. "It's a 'dead' language; nobody speaks it now" 

You mean that nobody actually speaks it in the form used by 
the Romans of Caesar's day. But does anyone today speak the 
English as it was used in the time of King Alfred ? If you read 
the Lord's Prayer in the English of that day you could only 
understand six words. 1 We do not speak the English of Chau- 
cer's time either. And yet English today is not called a " dead " 
language. We only say that it has changed greatly since the 
days of King Alfred and Chaucer. In the same way Latin has 
changed since the days of Caesar, but in its modern form (now 
called Italian, French, Spanish, Portuguese, and Roumanian — 
the latter a direct survival of the language of the Roman legions 
quartered in that country) — it is still 90 per cent Latin. More- 
over, it is actually spoken to some extent in the Catholic Church 
of today. It is a much greater fallacy, of course, to say that 
Greek is a "dead" language when modern Greek is still so 
largely spoken. 

5. "It isn't practical; it doesn't help you to earn money" 

This sounds as though you thought that only the things 
which have a money value are worth having. But if you were 
to make a list of the things in life which are really fine, such, for 
example, as matters of character — loyalty, bravery, honesty, 
reliability, right habits of work, etc. — or a liking for beautiful 
music, a taste for good books, an admiration for great deeds or 
a reverence for things that are holy, you would at once realize 
that money plays a very small part, after all, in the real " riches " 
of the world; for some of the men who have had almost no 
money have had these treasures. The mere fact, then, that you 
cannot trade Latin for money, would not be an argument against 
it except in the case of the boy or girl who is pressed by immedi- 
ate necessity of earning a living. If you are in this position, you 
are right about thinking that Latin is not a "practical" study 
for you. 

x See Introduction to "A First Latin Book," William Gardner Hale, 
University of Chicago. 



117 
1 



6. "I haven't time to take much Latin and a little of it isn't 
worth while" 

But even a little will help you to guess the extent to which 
English words are indebted to Latin; it will give you, too, a 
training in grammatical relations which will help you in English 
expression and other language work and start you in habits of 
accurate thinking which are universally valuable; it will make 
Rome more than a mere name in your mind and will make you 
better able to profit by reading English translations since you 
will have some slight knowledge of the original language as 
a basis for your understanding. 

7. "It's easier to read the translation and it's just as good" 

Do you think the wrong side of a piece of embroidery is as 
effective as the right, or that you get as much from hearing 
Caruso on the Victrola as when you listen to him at the opera ? 
Do you enjoy looking at a photograph of your friend as much as 
you do seeing him? And yet, except in a few cases, there is 
about the same difference in vividness between the translation 
and the Latin original. But you will not realize this until 
you have learned to know Latin well. 



118 



LETTERS TO HIGH -SCHOOL BOYS AND GIRLS IN 
ANSWER TO THE QUESTION, "IN YOUR OPINION, 
IS THERE ANY PRACTICAL VALUE IN STUDYING 
GREEK AND LATIN ? " 

"In my opinion the study of the Latin language and litera- 
ture, if pursued in a living way, is an admirable training for the 
powers of perception, judgment, and imagination. It makes one 
of the best possible foundations for higher culture or for a pro- 
fessional education. I think that the change in the conditions 
and tone of modern life has made classical study not less but 
more important for everyone who wishes to have a well dis- 
ciplined and efficient mind." — Henry van Dyke, Professor at 
Princeton University, February 3, 1913. 

"I wish sincerely that my engagements made it possible for 
me to discuss the relation of Greek and Latin to practical life, 
but it is literally impossible for me to do so. I can only say that 
I have always felt that Greek and Latin underlay all genuine 
culture." — Woodrow Wilson, Princeton, N.J., February 5, 1912. 

"In my judgment, a classical training is as important today 
in fitting a man for the affairs of life as it has been at any time 
since the sixteenth century: in some respects, I believe it to 
be more important." — Bliss Perry, writer and literary Critic, 
formerly editor of the "Atlantic Monthly," February 5, 1913. 

"Replying to your favor of 6th instant, I have a very strong 
belief that a thorough knowledge of elementary Latin is of much 
practical value to everybody in whatever walk of life he may be 
engaged. My own observation and experience has confirmed 
that impression very strongly. As a matter of fact, I very 
frequently have occasion to regret that I did not keep my own 
knowledge of the classics more actively brushed up." — George 
W. Wickersham, Attorney-General of the United States, 
Washington, D.C., January 18, 19 13. 

"I can only send you a brief and insufficient reply to your 
question by telling you a little of my own experience. I am a 
writer, and naturally have found a knowledge of Latin very useful 

119 



Note. — Students and teachers should co-operate to secure personal letters from 
many sources. 



to me in the study of literature, and for such an acquaintance 
as I have with literature it is indispensable. I have traveled 
somewhat in the Mediterranean countries, and there, too, 
I found my Latin of great practical value. Then, again, in 
acquiring a knowledge of Italian and French, I found my Latin 
schooling was like an elementary training for modern Roman 
languages, and made my mastery of vocabulary, especially, 
very much easier and more rapid. These are the practical 
advantages that I have personally experienced from the eight 
years that, as a boy, I gave in part to continuous Latin study. 
But, after all, what I most value in the general result is the 
lifelong pleasure I have had in Latin literature and the sense of 
indebtedness I feel to the classics for that formative power both 
over my thought and its expression, which has been insensible 
in its operation. The classics are a part of my heredity — of my 
intellectual blood and bone. 

"But I am only one man, and my profession as a writer sets 
me rather more apart from the body of educated men than 
usually happens in life; and, though I think a classical educa- 
tion great good fortune for a writer and indispensable to anyone 
who would live much in the past and realize the old tradition of 
wisdom and beauty in his own life and spirit, yet I should not 
think a man necessarily lost without it; I think it is the best of 
all educations for the free soul; but, on the other hand, I do 
not look on any education as essential to either human dignity 
or service, and there have been admirable forms of education 
without Latin. 

"In brief, I think a classical education most serviceable in 
forming the mind and tastes of a boy who is to have the happi- 
ness of an intellectual or artistic life, or of some part in such a 
life by reading or travel or sympathy; but for technical or 
vocational training, or for purely commercial ends, and generally 
for what is sought as a thing of material use, I should not think 
that Latin mattered. On the other hand, I do not think that 
either translations, or the modern languages themselves, are a 
substitute for direct acquaintance with the older training. 

"So I send you these few words, in lieu of any discussion, 
just to express my own view, as you ask it, based on my own 



experience, and observation; but I should be far from wishing 
to impose my view on others or from seeming to give a decision. 
You and the other boys who have such matters to decide, must 
look to your own natures and likes and aims, and then, with 
the help of older friends, perhaps, do the best you can. Latin 
is not the bread of life — one can live without it very well; 
but for the man of letters and for boys of that temperament, 
it is a good ration in the early barrack-years." — George E. 
Woodberry, writer, critic, and professor of English at Yale 
University, February 2, 19 13. 

"Unless one's estimate of life is entirely upon the basis of 
dollars and cents, there can be no question as to the advisa- 
bility of pursuing such studies as tend to culture intellectual 
development. The study of the classics qualifies one to enjoy 
the fine things that this, as well as other ages have produced. 
It is also a useful training in the development of capacity for 
achievement, which, in short, is the end and aim of all educa- 
tional instruction." — Herbert E. Hadley, ex-Governor of Mis- 
souri, April 9, 1913. 

"Personally, I believe that the striving for immediate ends 
is a poor conception of education and that we ought to have 
faith enough to look ahead and educate for the larger life to 
come. Least of all do I think that young people can be judges 
of what is advantageous in the long run." — J. M. Taylor, 
President of Vassar College, May 23, 1913. 



THE LARGER MEANING OF THE TERM "PRACTICAL" 
AS APPLIED TO EDUCATION 

There are two ideas of the meaning of education current 
today in America. According to one, education should be 
concerned with immediate usefulness; it should prepare a boy 
to earn money at once. From this viewpoint the practical 
studies are those that give him the information which he is to 
use immediately in his business. These are known as "voca- 
tional "studies, of which bookkeeping and stenography are 
examples. According to the other view, education should not 
be concerned primarily with preparation for earning money, 
though it must include this ultimately, but rather with the 
developing of the individual so that he may know how to live 
as well as how to make a living. Looked at in this way, all 
studies that tend to "form" a man rather than "inform" him 
are practical. It is upon this broader idea of the word that the 
claims of Latin as a practical study mainly rest. However, as 
this Exhibit shows, it is really practical, to a certain extent, in 
the narrower sense also. For not only does it not prevent one 
from making money, but on the contrary, it actually makes his 
chances better in the long run, while at the same time affording 
him a training which will make his life apart from his business 
career far richer and broader that it would otherwise be. 



"I am profoundly convinced that the only practical educa- 
tion is the one which aims directly to the training and enlarging 
of the mind. The most practical gift we, as teachers, can pre- 
sent to our students by means of which they may be able to 
win their way in the world is the power of thought. If we can 
teach our students how to think, we have taught the secret of 
'practical' success." — John G. Hibben, President of Princeton 
University. Letter to student, February 12, 1913. 

"I will preface what I have to say in regard to the term 
'practical' as applied to education with the observation that 
in each of our conscious moments we are engaged in one of three 
kinds of activity: namely, those of (1) our work, (2) our social 



relation, (3) our leisure. Education that does not make an 
effective workman is defective, but equally so is education that 
does not produce an intelligent and effective citizen and neigh- 
bor, and again, equally so is education that does not prepare one 
to make an appropriate use of his leisure. The term ' practical ' 
should be interpreted in the light of that observation. It is 
an obvious mistake to hold that the only practical aims of edu- 
cation are those that are expressed in economic terms. To 
put it in another way, the production of a skilled workman 
is not the only practical end of education." — Nathaniel Butler, 
Professor in the School of Education, University of Chicago. 
Letter to author, March 19 , 19 13. 

"There is no word more grotesquely misused in educational 
discussion than the word 'practical.' In any proper sense of 
the term, 'practical education' is that which does most for 
the enlargement of life by extending its interests, intensifying 
its powers, and deepening its sympathies. For these ends, 
the pursuit of historical and literary studies is incomparably 
more 'practical' than any other. In my opinion, the study of 
Greek and Latin stands in the very front rank of 'practicability,' 
and it is enough to make the angels weep to see such things 
as bookkeeping and cooking and carpentry seriously considered 
as being of anything like equal importance with classical and 
other humanities." — William Morton Payne, LL.D., Editor 
of "The Dial." Letter to student, February 15, 1913. 

"What kind of education makes people most efficient for 
general purposes ? Honestly answering this, though I am my- 
self professor of a radical and practical subject, I am bound to 
say that purely practical considerations go far to justify the old 
system of classics and mathematics in comparison with anything 
newer." — Barrett Wendell, Professor of English, Harvard Uni- 
versity, "The Privileged Classes," p. 168. 



123 



A "PRACTICAL" END OF EDUCATION LIES IN ENJOY- 
MENT OF THE POWER OF THINKING 

President Meiklejohn of Amherst College in defining the 
aim of a liberal education says that the man who has been trained 
to think has a constant source of joy and satisfaction. May this 
not be quite as "practical" an end of education for the boy 
removed from immediate necessity for earning money as one 
that looks mainly to utilitarian ends? He writes as follows: 

"When the man of the world is told that a boy is to be trained 
in thinking because of the joys and satisfactions of thinking 
itself, just in order that he may go on thinking as long as he lives, 
the man of the world has been heard to scoff and to ridicule the 
idle dreaming of scholarly men. But if thinking is not a good 
thing in itself, if intellectual activity is not worth while for its 
own sake, will the man of the world tell us what is ? There are 
those among us who find so much satisfaction in the countless 
trivial and vulgar amusements of a crude people that they have 
no time for the joys of the mind. There are those who are so 
closely shut up within a little round of petty pleasures that they 
have never dreamed of the fun of reading and conversing and 
investigating and reflecting. And of these one can only say 
that the difference is one of taste, and that their tastes seem to 
be relatively dull and stupid. Surely it is one function of the 
liberal college to save boys from that stupidity, to give them an 
appetite for the pleasures of thinking, to make them sensitive 
to the joys of appreciation and understanding, to show them how 
sweet and captivating and wholesome are the games of the mind. 
At the time when the play element is still dominant it is worth 
while to acquaint boys with the sport of facing and solving prob- 
lems. Apart from some of the experiences of friendship and 
sympathy I doubt if there are any human interests so perma- 
nently satisfying, so fine and splendid in themselves, as are those 
of intellectual activity. To give our boys that zest, that delight 
in things intellectual, to give them an appreciation of a kind of 
life which is well worth living, to make them men of intellectual 
culture — that certainly is one part of the work of any liberal col- 
lege." — "Amherst Graduate Quarterly," November 191 2, p. 61. 
124 



WHAT IT MEANS NOT TO KNOW LATIN 

"But to have had no Latin at all practically means that you 
do not know the logic or understand the categories of general 
grammar and those forms of language which are at the same time 
forms of thought; that you do not know and cannot safely 
learn from a lexicon the essential and root meanings of English 
vocables, and can therefore neither use them with a conscious- 
ness of their prime sensuous force nor guard yourself against 
mixed metaphor; that you are mystified by the variations 
of meanings in like Latin derivations in Shakespeare, the 
Romance languages, and modern English; that you have no 
historic feeling for the structure of the period which modern 
prose inherited from Isocrates through Cicero; that the diffi- 
culty of learning French or Italian is tripled for you, and the 
possibility of really understanding them forever precluded; 
that you have no key to the terminology of science and phi- 
losophy, to law and international law Latin, and Latin maxims, 
druggists' Latin, botanists' Latin, physicians' Latin; that you 
cannot even guess the meaning of the countless technical 
phrases, familiar quotations, proverbs, maxims, and compendi- 
ous Latin formulae that are so essential a part of the dialect 
of educated men that the fiercest adversaries of the classics 
besprinkle their pages with misprints of them ; that you cannot 
study the early history of modern science and philosophy, or 
read their masterpieces in the original texts; that Rome is as 
remote for you as China; that Virgil, Horace, and Cicero are 
mere names; that French literature is a panorama without 
perspective, a series of unintelligible allusions; that travel in 
Italy loses half its charm; that you cannot decipher an inscrip- 
tion on the Appian way, in the Catacombs, in Westminster 
Abbey, on Boston Common, or on the terrace of Quebec, or 
verify a quotation from St. Augustine, the Vulgate, the Mass, 
Bacon, Descartes, Grotius' On War and Peace, or Spinoza's 
Ethics, to say nothing of consulting the older documents of 
English law and institutions, the sources of the civil law, on 
which the laws of Europe and Louisiana are based, the Monu- 
menta Rerum Germanicarum, or Migne's patrologia, or reading 

125 



AUG 20 W13 



a bull of the Pope or a telegram of the German emperor; that, 
not to go back to Milton and the Elizabethans, who are unin- 
telligible without Latin, you cannot make out the texts from 
which Addison's Spectator discourses, you do not know half 
the time what Johnson and Boswell are talking about; that 
Pope and all of the characteristic writers of the so-called Golden 
Age are sealed books to you ; that you are ill at ease and feel your- 
self an outsider in reading the correspondence of Tennyson and 
Fitzgerald, or that of almost any educated Englishman of the 
nineteenth century, and even in reading Thackeray's novels; 
that half of Charles Lamb's puns lose their point; and that 
when "Punch" alludes to the pathetic scene in which Colonel 
Newcome cried "absit omen!" for the last time, you don't 
see the joke. — Dr. Paul Shorey, University of Chicago, in The 
Case for the Classics, "School Review," November, 1910. 



126 



Note. — The extensive bibliography of the subject given in footnotes to the above 
article is invaluable to the classical teacher. 







m 



: 



■ 



■' ...,-V-V *■>?-■...■■■'::> 



■':■ ' 



The 

Relation of Latin to 
Practical Life 



FRANCES ELLIS SABIN 



c 

i 



